The towering work GONE by American artist KAWS is the largest bronze sculpture by the artist to date, standing 7m tall and weighing over 14 tonnes. The work is an emotional depiction of loss, with the pose reminiscent of that in the famous Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo, Pietà, 1498–99, which depicts the lifeless Christ cradled in his mother Mary’s arms, after the crucifixion.
KAWS began making small-scale sculptural works in the late 1990s following visits to Japan, where he discovered a thriving collectables community. Drawing on elements from iconic cartoon and pop-culture characters, KAWS’s sculptures have universal appeal. They often embody pathos, fragility, humility and vulnerability, and are among the artist’s most emotional works. The sculptures resonate and engage with contemporary issues such as loneliness, the lack of human contact in today’s society, and helplessness in the face of dark times and an increasingly fractured world. This new sculpture, GONE, is among the most powerful of these statements.
Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS, was born in 1974 in New Jersey and started out as a graffiti and street artist. Now living and working in Brooklyn, New York, KAWS draws on the complexities of modern life and the contemporary built environment, and contrasts this with the aesthetics of pop and street culture.
Photo: Jonty Wilde
KAWS
GONE, 2019
700.0 × 710.5 × 294.0 cm
patinated and painted bronze
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria