KAWS Opens Solo Art Exhibition In The Virtual World—And Entry Is Free
In his traveling projects, as with all of his work, KAWS endeavors to bring art to the masses. Luckily, the hybrid world has introduced yet another platform to expand accessibility; there couldn’t be more footfall than in the virtual realm, where anybody anywhere—homebodies and explorers alike—can gather in one place without knocking shoulders.
The latest solo KAWS exhibition, entitled New Fiction, has a physical space, yes, but it is also fully viewable at home via two free online platforms. Aside from a real-world venue in London’s Serpentine North Gallery, you could also explore it in hit online battle royale game Fortnite or pull up one of his augmented-reality sculptures into your living space, as part of a partnership with Fortnite and AR app Acute Art.
This extensive virtual stage transports KAWS’ art to the eye levels of the most number of people it’s seen. Whereas Serpentine amasses an average of 35,000 visitors per show, Fortnite—boasting 400 million players—would likely beat this number multifold. New Fiction could be the “most-attended exhibition” ever, described Acute Art’s artistic director Daniel Birnbaum at a press conference, as quoted by Dazed. If you’re still counting, Birnbaum says the Fortnite show could receive 10 times the attention that the Venice Biennale gets.
No virtual shootings are to be had in the Fortnite-based exhibition, thankfully; it takes place in the game’s more casual modes. Here, you’ll find the iconic Companion statues hanging around a virtual replica of Serpentine North, in addition to a digitized array of acrylic paintings.
The artist, whose real name is Brian Donnelly, is the first artist to host an exhibition on Fortnite, and he’s excited to share his work with more art lovers in “a new and massive way,” he told the Guardian in an interview. His only prior brush with the video game involved a collaboration to create skeleton Companion skins for Halloween.
Visitors at Serpentine—and around the world—can also interact with the sculptures by launching the Acute Art AR smartphone app, where a floating rendition of Companion will appear.
There’s a dedicated empty space in the physical gallery to view this virtual piece, but you’ll be able to see it from anywhere in the world too.
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Donnelly said he was once hesitant about creating art for the virtual sphere, since there’s a perception that less-tangible projects are transient and fleeting. Then he worked with Acute Art in 2020 to create AR public art and found that the creation process was just as purposeful. “Working with [Acute] is the same back and forth as when I work with the bronze foundry, or the factory that I make toys in,” he told the Guardian. “And the quality they achieve, it seems very real.”
As for whether fans can expect to purchase original KAWS non-fungible tokens soon, the artist revealed that he hasn’t felt inspired to design something for this space yet. “I haven’t felt the piece or [had] the thought that made me think, ‘This is the right thing to make one for,’” he acknowledged. This isn’t to say he doesn’t believe in the potential of crypto art—“If an NFT is real to the next generation, who’s to say it’s not?”
KAWS’ New Fiction will show at Serpentine North through February 27. The Fortnite exhibition, on the other hand, will exist indefinitely in the video game and can be visited through the island code 9562-7830-4159.
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[via The Guardian and Dazed, images via various sources]
