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What does KAWS’s art mean?
1 Answer
What KAWS’s art means is open to interpretation. 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. Companion is now the most visible of the KAWS posse, appearing over the past decade in new postures and combinations in monumental works. 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 explained in the catalogue for an exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, in Texas. “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.” On 1stDibs, find a diverse assortment of KAWS art.
1stDibs ExpertFebruary 21, 2024
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Shop for KAWS Art on 1stDibs
KAWS Blush Companion (KAWS red blush)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Red Blush Companion. New and sealed in its original packaging. Published by Medicom Japan in conjunction with the exhibition, KAWS: Where The End Starts at the Modern Art Museum...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Blush Companion 2016 (KAWS Flayed)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Blush Flayed Companion 2016: New and sealed in its original packaging. Published by Medicom Japan in conjunction with the exhibition, KAWS: Where The E...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Sculptures
Materials
Vinyl, Resin
KAWS URGE (KAWS ceramic plates)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS URGE
This complete set of KAWS ceramic plates features KAWS' CHUM character and was published by The Brooklyn Museum on the occasion of the 2021 KAWS retrospective, KAWS: WHAT P...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Prints and Multiples
Materials
Ceramic, Lithograph, Screen
KAWS Holiday Japan (KAWS Mount Fuji Japan)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Grey Holiday Companion Japan (KAWS Mount Fuji Japan):
This sold out KAWS figurative piece features KAWS' signature character COMPANION in a resting position. Published by All Ri...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Sculptures
Materials
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS, Far Far Down, 2018, Screenprint in colours on wove paper, Edition of 100
By KAWS
Located in Bristol, GB
Screenprint in colours on wove paper
Edition of 100
81.3 x 135.3 cm (32 x 53.2 in)
Signed and numbered on the front
Mint
Our mission is to connect art collectors to opportunity.
Whe...
Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints
Materials
Screen
KAWS, Alone Again, 2018, Screenprint in colours on wove paper, Edition of 100
By KAWS
Located in Bristol, GB
Screenprint in colours on wove paper
Edition of 100
81.3 x 135.3 cm (32 x 53.2 in)
Signed and numbered on the front
Mint
Our mission is to connect art collectors to opportunity.
Whe...
Category
2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints
Materials
Screen