Share is KAWS’ latest work.
Melbourne went a little nuts when KAWS took over the NGV late last year. And for good reason too since for quite the time he, real name Bryan Donnelly, has produced a body of work, primarily his cartoonish and x-eyed figures that share an affinity with a number of children’s cartoon characters, that speaks to so many people. (Featured image: Pt Leo Estate)
His NGV exhibition, titled Companionship In The Age Of Loneliness, was exceptional and can still be seen online here. At the time, we thought that this would be the only place we would see KAWS unless we went overseas, which, in any case, we can’t do anyway. But now we have our very own KAWS sculpture on the Mornington Peninsula and it’s massive.
Part of Pt Leo Estate’s Sculpture Park, KAWS latest sculpture stands pretty tall amongst some other very esteemed artists from Australia and across the world. However, it isn’t the tallest since Anthony Gormley’s Angel of the North stands at an impressive 20m. KAWS’ 5.5m sculpture was first cast in bronze and then painted in understated greys and browns. It is also clutching the BFF figure, who is painted in an eye-popping blue.
Entry into the sculpture park will set adults back $10 but only $5 for Concession.
Open daily from 12pm to 6pm, you can take a short stroll around the grounds or walk a larger loop to take in as many of the 60-odd sculptures as you can.
Other artists with sculptures on display include George Rickey, Tony Cragg, Inge King, Boaz Vaadia, Tomnakatsu Matsuyama, Barry Flanagan, Julian Opie, Bruce Armstrong and Lenton Parr.
The park itself is a work in progress and will continue to grow and evolve in the coming years. For more info on the sculpture park, head over here.