Friedman Benda first debuted KAWSxCampana, a collaboration between American artist KAWS and Brazilian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana, leading creative forces in contemporary art and design in 2018. “It is a perfect collision of two very different artistic trajectories, but with much in common between them, notably, an ability to fuse accessible surface qualities with trenchant cultural commentary. They offer a pleasure akin to two veteran musicians taking the stage, jamming together, and finding perfect harmony,” says Glenn Adamson.
Considered one of the most relevant artists of his generation, KAWS (b. 1974) engages audiences beyond the museums and galleries worldwide in which he regularly exhibits. KAWSxCampana is one of the latest projects from the artist’s acclaimed multi-disciplinary practice, which includes paintings, murals, large-scale sculptures, graphic and product design. With humor and playful intricacy, he draws inspiration and appropriates from pop culture animations to form a unique artistic vocabulary across various mediums.
Pioneers in the global design landscape, Fernando (b. 1961) and Humberto Campana (b. 1953), formed Estudio Campana in 1983 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A radical departure from the modernist aesthetic dominant in Brazil of the time, Estudio Campana fearlessly combined sculptural and design sensibilities to create a revolutionary new discipline. Pairing traditional craftmanship with industrial techniques and unconventional materials, Estudio Campana investigate concepts of cultural over-consumption, transformation and reinvention through their designs. Estudio Campana’s works can be found in over 40 public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
Select works from the collaboration:
