Kaws, Friends and Neighbors anchors Seoul museum debut
Published on 08/28/2026 at 13:48 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Kaws sets his summer rhythm with Friends and Neighbors at Space K Seoul, his first museum solo exhibition in Korea. As Kolon’s Space K and coverage in the Korea Economic Daily English edition outline, the show opened on July 23, 2026 and runs through December 27, 2026 with around 20 new works on view. Seoul Economic Daily report on Friends and Neighbors
Kaws in Seoul’s museum landscape
The Space K Seoul exhibition gathers new large-scale paintings and sculptures, including the recent works THE WHITE FENCE and CONSTANT PRESSURE, both 2026 canvases prominently shared in the run-up to the opening. Seoul Economic Daily places the monumental sculpture Neck and Neck at the entrance as a pressure-charged double figure. Chosun Ilbo feature on Friends and Neighbors
The museum positions Friends and Neighbors as a bridge between Kaws’s street-derived language and a Korean institutional audience, underscoring how his cartoon-influenced characters meet local viewers through accessible figuration and saturated color. Curator Lee Jang-wook reads Kaws as a “21st-century Andy Warhol” oscillating between downtown culture and uptown institutions.
Summer collaborations around the fair circuit
While the Seoul exhibition secures institutional presence, Kaws’s Kaws x MLB collaboration with Fanatics, Complex and Major League Baseball taps directly into the summer fair circuit, debuting in-person at Fanatics Fest in New York City from July 16 to 19, 2026, aligned with the Yankees-Dodgers series at Yankee Stadium July 17 to 19. Fanatics and Complex press release on KAWS x MLB
The limited-edition apparel and Topps trading cards deploy Kaws’s XX motif across Yankees and Dodgers iconography, extending his visual language from museum galleries and sculpture parks to stadium concourses and merchandise booths. This hybrid field between sports event, fair-style fan festival and artist collaboration mirrors how art fairs borrow from entertainment formats to expand their audiences.
All news and background on Kaws
Readers can follow how Kaws moves between museum exhibitions, stadium collaborations and fair-style events with more coverage in the AD HOC NEWS archive.
The work core across media
Kaws works across painting, sculpture and edition objects, with recurring character groups such as COMPANION, CHUM and BFF forming a recognizable vocabulary that shifts between galleries, public sculpture sites and commercial collaborations. His Seoul show adds new canvases and bronzes to this continuum, foregrounding pressure and intimacy in stacked, inflated forms.
Where the artist stands now
Kaws currently has Friends and Neighbors on view at Space K Seoul in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, with the institutional exhibition running from July 23, 2026 to December 27, 2026.
Kaws at a glance
- Artist: Kaws (Brian Donnelly)
- Medium / Genre: Sculpture and painting (pop-inflected, character-based)
- Born: 1974, Jersey City, USA
- Place(s) of practice: Studio practice between New York and international project sites including Seoul
- Active since: mid-1990s with graffiti interventions and billboard alterations, followed by toy releases and gallery shows in the 2000s
- Key work groups: COMPANION, CHUM, BFF, large-scale acrylic paintings with intersecting cartoon limbs and skull heads
- Current/last exhibition: Friends and Neighbors, Space K Seoul, July 23, 2026 - December 27, 2026
- Major collections: Public holdings include Albertina Modern (Vienna) and institutional displays at venues such as the Brooklyn Museum and New York Botanical Garden
- Awards: No major art prizes such as the Turner Prize or Praemium Imperiale are publicly documented for Kaws; recognition largely stems from institutional exhibitions and collaborations
- Next date: July 23, 2026 - December 27, 2026, Friends and Neighbors, Space K Seoul
Frequently asked questions about Kaws
Where is Kaws currently on view in a museum setting?
Kaws is on view with Friends and Neighbors, his first museum solo exhibition in Korea, at Space K Seoul in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, running from July 23, 2026 to December 27, 2026.
What character groups define Kaws’s sculptural work?
Key recurring figures include COMPANION, CHUM and BFF, each rendered in inflatable-looking, cartoon-derived forms that appear in sculptures, vinyl editions and large paintings.
How does the Kaws x MLB collaboration relate to fairs and events?
The Kaws x MLB collection debuted at Fanatics Fest New York from July 16 to 19, 2026, in parallel with the Yankees-Dodgers series at Yankee Stadium, linking his visual language to a fair-style sports and fan environment.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
