KAWS: Art & ComixAlbertina Modern, Vienna
3 April to 27 September 2026

Arguably, no other living artist has blurred the lines between graphic design, graffiti and Pop art more than Brian Donnelly, also known as KAWS. Initially a scene painter for animated films, during the 1990s he created his own family of cartoon characters — first in spray-paint, then through screen-prints and toys, and eventually turning to oil on canvas and huge public sculptures.

Vienna’s Albertina Modern is using the story of KAWS’s meteoric rise as the starting point for an examination of the wider phenomenon of artists being influenced by comic strips — from Basquiat to Keith Haring, Tschabalala Self, Peter Saul, A.R. Penck, Raymond Pettibon and Ad Reinhardt. The result is a show that raises the question: which mediums constitute ‘high’ and ‘low’ art?