This Is Not A Toy Exhibit @ Design Exchange (guest curated by Pharrell Williams)

This Is Not A Toy: An Exhibition of Contemporary Art and Collectible Design is currently on at the Toronto Design Exchange. The exhibit was guest curated by Pharrell Williams who put the collection together to display ‘ the design and art toy as a unique medium for artistic expression’. The collection includes pieces from a variety of designers like, KAWS, Takashi Murakami, A Bathing Ape, and FriendsWithYou, varying in prices from a few dollars to thousands.

The title of the exhibit was inspired by the ‘THIS IS NOT A TOY’ disclaimer often found on product packaging, and Rene Margritte’s ‘Ceci N’est Pas Un Pipe’.

The exhibit is on through till May 19 and I definitely recommend checking it out while its here! Below you can see some of my favourite pieces found inside of the bright,bold, ‘dream world’ that is This Is Not A Toy.

COMPANION
KAWS, 2009, vinyl, 48″
Collection of Lev (Toy Tokyo); The artist; Jonathan Elias

BOUNTY HUNTER SKULL KUN
BxH, MediCom Toy, 2007, vinyl 48″, release: 100
Collection of Lev (Toy Tokyo)

GODLY
FriendsWithYou, 2010, inflatable, 36″x 36″, unique
Collection of the artists

THE SIMPLE THINGS
Takashi Murakami and Pharrell Williams, 2008- 2009, glass fiber, steel, acrylic, wood, LED and 7 objects made of gold (white, yellow, and pink) set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, 74″ x 43 1/4″ x 39 3/4″
Collection of Adriana Abascal and Cathy Vedovi