2020
In the beginning, Brian Donnelly was just a kid from Jersey City, New Jersey, who got into the graffiti thing. KAWS was his tag, chosen simply because he liked the way it looked. Today, KAWS creates all kinds of art — there are KAWS figures and toys, sculptures and colorful drawings, paintings and prints that appropriate pop phenomena like the Smurfs, the Simpsons and SpongeBob SquarePants.
In the late 1990s, the artist, a 1996 graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts, was making a living as an illustrator for the animation studio Jumbo Pictures. Like young Hansel and Gretel with their trail of crumbs, KAWS would mark the morning route to his downtown Manhattan office with “subvertising,” “interrupting” fashion advertisements by adding his colorful character Bendy, its sinuous length sliding playfully around the likes of a Calvin Klein perfume bottle or supermodel Christy Turlington.
These creations gained a following, to the point where work posted in the morning would disappear by lunchtime. Even in those early days, KAWS was hot on the resale market.
“When I was doing graffiti,” he once explained, “it meant nothing to me to make paintings if I wasn’t reaching people.”
Instead of seeking entrée to the elite New York art world (which, frankly, wasn’t looking for a street artist anyway), KAWS moved to Japan, where a flourishing youth culture welcomed visionaries like him.
In 1999, he partnered with Bounty Hunter, a Japanese toy and streetwear brand, to release his first toy. Companion — an eight-inch-tall vinyl reimagining of Mickey Mouse, with a skull-and-crossbones head and trademark XX eyes — debuted with a limited run of 500. It sold out quickly.
Companion was the first of more than 130 toy designs, which came to include such characters as Chum, Blitz, Be@rbrick, BFF and Milo, each immediately recognizable as KAWS figures by their XX eyes. Fans have proved insatiable. In 2017, MoMA’s online store announced the availability of a limited supply of KAWS Companion figures; as avid collectors logged on to stake their claim, the website crashed — multiple times.
Companion is the most visible of the KAWS posse, appearing over the past decade in new postures and combinations in monumental KAWS statues and other works. These include Along the Way (2013), an 18-foot-tall wooden sculpture of two Companions leaning on each other for support; Together (2016), two Companions in a friendly embrace, which debuted during an exhibition of KAWS’s work at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, in Texas; and KAWS:HOLIDAY (2018), a 92-foot-long inflatable Companion floating on its back in Seoul’s Seokchon Lake. The sculptures were re-created as toys, blurring the lines between art and commerce.
KAWS’s visual language may be drawn from cartoons, but his work doesn’t necessarily evoke childlike joy.
“My figures are not always reflecting the idealistic cartoon view that I grew up on,” he explains in the catalogue for the Fort Worth exhibition. “Companion is more real in dealing with contemporary human circumstances . . . . I think when I’m making work it also often mirrors what’s going on with me at that time.”
KAWS's résumé reads like a record of major 21st-century pop-culture moments. It includes his work with streetwear brands like A Bathing Ape and Supreme; his design for the cover of Kanye West’s 2008 album, 808s & Heartbreak; and his collaboration with designer Kim Jones on the Dior Homme Spring/Summer 2019 collection, Jones’s debut as the fashion brand’s creative director.
Learn how to spot a fake KAWS art toy, and browse authentic KAWS figures, prints, sculptures and mixed media works on 1stDibs.
$1,160Sale Price|29% Off
H 12.4 in W 6.3 in D 5.12 in
KAWS - Share Figure - Brown Version _Brand new collectible
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
KAWS SHARE (Brown version), new & unopened in its original packaging: KAWS SHARE first appeared in 'BLACKOUT' – the first London solo exhibition by KAWS (Skarstedt London 2019). In S...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS "Share (Brown)" Toy Sculpture
By KAWS
Located in Boston, MA
Artist: KAWS, Title: Share (Brown) Series: Toys Date: 2020 Medium: Sculpture Unframed Dimensions: 12.4" x 6.3" x 3.94" Signature: Stamped Edition: Open Edition KAWS (Americ...
PVC
$2,080Sale Price|20% Off
H 14 in W 15 in D 4 in
KAWS Gone Brown Figure, Pop Art Vinyl & Resin, 14in, Unsigned, 2010+
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
KAWS Gone- Brown version New on its original packaging. Medium: Vinyl & Cast Resin Open unknown edition Unsigned
Resin, Vinyl
$1,880Sale Price|34% Off
H 14.25 in W 7 in D 7 in
KAWS Clean Slate Vinyl Figure, Grey Version, Pop Art, 2010s, Unsigned
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
KAWS Clean Slate (Grey), new & unopened in its original packaging. Sold Out after the artist's retrospect exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Medium: Vinyl & Cast Res...
Resin, Vinyl
$3,773
H 14.77 in W 6.74 in D 4.02 in
Five Years Later Companion (Brown) Vinyl Sculpture, Edition of 500
By KAWS
Located in Bristol, GB
Painted cast vinyl Edition of 500 (reported) Stamped 'MEDICOM TOY 2004 CHINA © KAWS..04' on the underside Pristine, some minor imperfections may exist given the nature of the materia...
Vinyl, Plastic
$38,500
H 7.75 in W 4.25 in D 2.25 in
KAWS - Limited Edition Historic 1st Companion ever uniquely Hand Signed & Dated
By KAWS
Located in New York, NY
KAWS VERY FIRST COMPANION - HISTORIC Uniquely Hand signed by the artist. (the regular edition was unsigned) KAWS Limited Edition 1st Companion (Hand Signed by KAWS), 1999 Painted Ca...
Resin, Mixed Media
$1,160Sale Price|20% Off
H 13.4 in W 6.3 in D 5.12 in
KAWS Take Figure Blue Version, Pop Art Resin Sculpture, 2010-
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
Open unknown edition Unsigned Several months after releasing the KAWS Share Figure in February, the artist released his long anticipated KAWS Take Figure. The figure, which features...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS SHARE complete set of 3 works (KAWS Share companion set)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS SHARE Companion (Set of 3): Complete Set of 3 KAWS SHARE figurative sculptures, each new & unopened in its original packaging. KAWS SHARE first appeared in 'BLACKOUT' – the first London solo exhibition by KAWS (Skarstedt London 2019). In SHARE, KAWS uses two of his characters to convey opposing human attitudes- whereby, the Companion is secure and looks outward, holding but not attached to the toy in its hand. Of recent note, KAWS SHARE was open to public display in New York's famed Rockefeller Center in (August 2021). New/never displayed & accompanied by original packaging. Medium: Painted Vinyl Cast Resin. 12.4 x 6.3 inches (applies to each individual). New, unopened in its original box; excellent condition. From a sold out edition of unknown. Stamped to the underside of foot. Packed safely & professionally. We are a trusted leading seller & expert in this category. A leading artist of his generation, Brooklyn-based KAWS engages audiences beyond the museums and galleries in which he regularly exhibits. KAWS is perhaps best known for his iconic character, Companion, which is featured in key paintings, sculptures, products, and toy figures. KAWS’ art possesses a sophisticated humor and thoughtful critique of consumer products. His bold, high-minded graphic language revitalizes figuration with big, bold gestures and keen, playful intricacy. KAWS’ figures...
Resin, Vinyl
$6,200
H 5.56 in W 2.56 in D 1.89 in
Bronze - At This Time, 2022 Limited Edition (Ed. 250) Bronze Sculpture by KAWS
By KAWS
Located in Hong Kong, HK
Bronze - At This Time, 2022
Bronze sculpture with original case
Incised signature, date and number on the bottom,
Signed on the certificate
14.1 × 6.5...
Bronze
KAWS SHARE Set of 2 (KAWS brown grey share companions)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS SHARE: Set of 2, each new & unopened in its original packaging. KAWS SHARE first appeared in 'BLACKOUT' – the first London solo exhibition by KAWS (Skarstedt London 2019). In SHARE, KAWS uses two of his characters to convey opposing human attitudes- whereby, the Companion is secure and looks outward, holding but not attached to the toy in its hand. Of recent note, KAWS SHARE was open to public display in New York's famed Rockefeller Center in (August 2021). Medium: Painted Vinyl Cast Resin. 2020. 12.4 x 6.3 inches (applies to each individual). New, never displayed; accompanied by original packaging. From a sold out edition of unknown. Stamped to the underside of feet. Packed safely & professionally. We are a trusted leading seller & expert in this category. A leading artist of his generation, Brooklyn-based KAWS engages audiences beyond the museums and galleries in which he regularly exhibits. KAWS is perhaps best known for his iconic character, Companion, which is featured in key paintings, sculptures, products, and toy figures. KAWS, born Brian Donnelly, straddles the worlds of art as well as design with a prolific body of work that ranges from paintings, murals, and large-scale sculptures to merchandise, furniture, and toys. It often centers on Companion, a depressed Mickey Mouse–like character with X’s for eyes. KAWS got his start as a street artist in the late ’90s. His practice has earned him major shows at the Brooklyn Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, among other institutions. Evoking the sensibilities of Pop artists such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, KAWS embarks on culturally impactful collaborations and explores the intersection of art and commerce...
Resin, Vinyl
Small Lie Sculpture, Pop Art, Vinyl Paint, 2010+, New, 11x3.75 in
By KAWS
Located in New York, NY
KAWS, born 1974 in New Jersey, is a multi-faceted New York based artist. KAWS began his career as a graffiti artist in Jersey City, taking to the streets at night and painting over a...
Vinyl
KAWS: Time Off Blue Vinyl Figure, 2010+, Plastic, 7x11x6 in, New
By KAWS
Located in New York, NY
'KAWS: TIME OFF Blue' Vinyl Figure is a bright blue vinyl and resin art toy posed in a relaxed, lounging manner. The figurine is a marvelous addition to any surface area, and is able...
Plastic
Astro Boy Sculpture, KAWS Pop Art Figurine, Limited Edition 2013
By KAWS
Located in New York, NY
The ‘Astro Boy’ in vivid color was re-imagined by KAWS in collaboration with Original Fake and created by Medicom Toy. This collectable art figurine is made of vinyl and is part of t...
Resin, Plastic
KAWS: Time Off Black Vinyl Figure, 2010+, Authentic Art Toy
By KAWS
Located in New York, NY
'KAWS: TIME OFF Black' Vinyl Figure is a black vinyl and resin art toy posed in a relaxed, lounging manner. The figurine is a marvelous addition to any surface area, and is able to b...
Acrylic Polymer, Plastic
KAWS: Time Off Pink Vinyl Figure, 2010+, Authentic Art Toy
By KAWS
Located in New York, NY
'KAWS: TIME OFF Pink' Vinyl Figure is a bright pink vinyl and resin art toy posed in a relaxed, lounging manner. The figurine is a marvelous addition to any surface area, and is able...
Plastic
'CHUM' Orange Vinyl Figure, Contemporary, Open Edition, 2023, Unframed
By KAWS
Located in New York, NY
'CHUM' Orange Vinyl Figure produced by 2023 by Medicom Toy Company. This piece is an open edition, stamped underfoot, and in original packaging. KAWS, born in 1974, is a New-York b...
Vinyl
KAWS art toys have developed an avid audience in recent decades, and as in any robust collectible market, counterfeiters have followed the mania. Of course, you don’t have to worry about that on 1stDibs, where all our sellers are highly vetted.
From graffiti tagger to hypebeast obsession to auction hero — we chart the artist’s rise and his widening influence.
