From 29 October 2025 to 25 January 2026, Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati present a new site-specific installation for the Renaissance courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi by KAWS, the renowned contemporary artist known for his iconic visual language and category-defying oeuvre.
Part of the Palazzo Strozzi Future Art programme, the project creates a compelling dialogue with the Renaissance architecture and the concurrent exhibition dedicated to Fra Angelico, offering an original and surprising encounter between eras, forms, and artistic visions.
KAWS has achieved global recognition for works that range from painting and sculpture to murals, graphic and product design, often drawing inspiration from animation and contemporary visual communication. With a highly distinctive style and a playful yet subversive approach, the artist explores shared symbols and hybrid characters to address human themes, questioning the boundaries between high and popular culture.
KAWS (b. 1974, Jersey City, NJ, USA; lives and works in Brooklyn, New York) has exhibited extensively in major cultural institutions worldwide, including solo exhibitions at SFMoMA, San Francisco (2025); The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh (2024); Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2023); Serpentine Gallery, London (2022); Mori Arts Center Gallery, Tokyo (2021); The Brooklyn Museum, New York (2021); and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2019).
The project is part of the program Palazzo Strozzi Future Art, developed by Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, and Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati.
Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Public Supporters: Comune di Firenze, Regione Toscana, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Camera di Commercio di Firenze.
Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Private Supporters: Fondazione CR Firenze, Intesa Sanpaolo, Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati, Comitato dei Partner di Palazzo Strozzi.