Kaws

About

American artist and designer who is best known for merging graffiti with fine art, design, and commerce. He first became famous for collaborating with Japanese toymakers. He is known for creating sculptures, acrylic paintings on canvas, and screen prints while also collaborating on limited edition toys.

Before Fame

After graduating high school, he attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he studied Fine Arts with a focus on illustration. In the year 1996, he was hired by Jumbo Pictures as an animator and worked on a number of animations such as 101 Dalmatians, Daria, and Doug. 

Trivia

His products and commercial collaborations have included designing magazine covers for publications like The New Yorker, and i-D. He has also worked with Reese's Puffs Cereal and John Mayer, with whom he designed a range of guitar picks.

Family Life

His birth name is Brian Donnelly. He has been married to Julia Chiang. 

Associated With

He also designed the cover of the album 808'S & HEARTBREAK in 2008 for Kanye West.