KAWS: THE MESSAGE, in the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi in Florence
A work by Kaws, private collection
KAWS: THE MESSAGE: Florence, Courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi, October 29, 2025 – January 25, 2026.
The full article will be available soon.
From October 29, 2025, to January 25, 2026, the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi will be transformed into a stage for contemporary art with a site-specific installation by KAWS, one of the most influential and iconic international artists on the contemporary art scene.
The work, created in collaboration with the Hillary Merkus Recordati Foundation, represents a surprising encounter between contemporary art and the Renaissance architecture of Palazzo Strozzi.
KAWS THE MESSAGE
The work consists of two wooden sculptures, each over six meters tall, depicting two of KAWS’s iconic characters, COMPANION and BFF, interacting with their cell phones. Their position explicitly references the iconographic tradition of the Annunciation, where Mary and the Archangel Gabriel engage in a dialogue.
Andy Bianchedi, Luigi De Siervo and Arturo Galansino at the press conference
Kaws at the press conference
KAWS (USA 1974) has conquered the international art scene with works inspired by pop culture, animation, and contemporary visual communication. His characters, characterized by their X-shaped eyes, are highly recognizable, irreverent, playful, and revolutionary. They engage a diverse audience, with the artist’s biggest fans being young people, who can connect with the emotions of these irresistible characters.
KAWS THE MESSAGE nel cortile di Palazzo Strozzi
Curated by Arturo Galansino, Director General of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, KAWS THE MESSAGE contrasts not only with its location, which is starkly antithetical to the courtyard’s Renaissance architecture, but also with the current exhibition dedicated to Beato Angelico, reworking the theme of the Annunciation, one of the celebrated friar-painter’s favorite subjects. But that is precisely the purpose of this monumental installation: to create a short circuit between the old and the new, between tradition and contemporaneity.
KAWS THE MESSAGE
KAWS THE MESSAGE
I really like KAWS’s work, probably also because he’s often interacted with fashion (I remember a memorable Dior window display), but I think his characters, beyond their playful appearance, convey melancholy and vulnerability, as well as messages that are always very timely. In this work, in fact, the artist reinterprets a famous and sacred scene, that of the Annunciation, but inserts a fundamental element, the telephone, a device we all use compulsively these days and which probably fulfills a “sacred” role today.
The artist photographed by Shaniqwa Jarvis. Drawing by KAWS
Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, an additional opportunity to visit the KAWS exhibition and that of Beato Angelico (open until January 25, 2026).
Good life everyone!
Beatrice