KAWS, Urge X (Pink), 2020

KAWS, Urge X (Pink), 2020
Screenprint
17 x 12 in
43.2 x 30.5 cm
Edition of 250 plus 50 AP

In Urge X (Pink) (2020), KAWS concludes his Urge series with a composition that radiates both intensity and tenderness. The central Companion figure, rendered in a vivid pink-red hue, appears enveloped by a cluster of colorful hands — teal, pale pink, blue, and yellow — each marked with the artist’s iconic X. These overlapping gestures create a choreography of touch that oscillates between comfort and confinement, embodying the emotional complexity that defines KAWS’s practice.

The use of pink as the dominant color infuses the work with a sense of warmth and vulnerability, suggesting themes of affection, exposure, and inner tension. While the palette feels playful, the expressionless figure beneath the gloved hands evokes a deeper emotional gravity — an image of being simultaneously embraced and overwhelmed. The composition captures the modern struggle between the desire for connection and the instinct for self-preservation.

Executed with KAWS’s meticulous crosshatching and graphic precision, Urge X (Pink) merges the visual language of animation with the sensibilities of fine art. The artist’s ability to distill psychological nuance into clean, cartoon-inspired forms is on full display — transforming the familiar into something profoundly human.

Through Urge X (Pink), KAWS closes the series with a powerful meditation on empathy and emotion. What begins as a pop-inflected image of color and form becomes a poignant exploration of intimacy, identity, and the fragile boundaries that define the human experience.