Urge #6 2020

This print, Urge #6, was made by KAWS, sometime after 1974, and, oh boy, does it have a graphic punch. Imagine KAWS, armed with silk screen, layering these bright, bold colours – the yellow, red, blue and green hands that reach into the frame. The image comes to life in stages. It’s less about blending and more about how shapes and colors talk to each other. I can only wonder, what was KAWS thinking? The black cross marking on each hand suggests a kind of defacement, maybe an awareness of the commodification of his art. Yet the composition is also strangely tender, four hands coming together in a shared space. It makes you think about how artists are always in conversation, borrowing and riffing off each other's ideas across time. Like, this piece feels like an echo of Pop Art's playful irreverence, but with a contemporary edge. It’s this kind of dialogue that keeps art alive, isn’t it?