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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
Bearbrick Kaws Grey Dissected 1000%
By KAWS
Located in PARIS, FR
2010 Japan Medicom Toy Be@rbrick 1000% x OriginalFake Kaws Dissected Companion Grey. Edition of 500
Category
2010s Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Vinyl
Untitled from URGE (Grey) Signed Original Screen Print
By KAWS
Located in Philadelphia, PA
KAWS
Untitled from Urge (Grey)
From the rare limited edition of 250
Original Screen print on paper
Hand signed and numbered
MINT Condition
Category
2010s Prints and Multiples
Materials
Screen, Lithograph
Untitled from URGE (Red) Signed Original Screen Print
By KAWS
Located in Philadelphia, PA
KAWS
Untitled from Urge (Red)
From the rare limited edition of 250
Original Screen print on paper
Hand signed and numbered
MINT Condition
Category
2010s Prints and Multiples
Materials
Screen, Lithograph
Untitled from URGE (Light Green) Signed Original Screen Print
By KAWS
Located in Philadelphia, PA
KAWS
Untitled from Urge
From the rare limited edition of 250
Original Screen print on paper
Hand signed and numbered
MINT Condition
Category
2010s Prints and Multiples
Materials
Lithograph, Screen
Untitled (limited edition blanket) red
By KAWS
Located in London, GB
KAWS
Untitled (limited edition blanket) red,
2019
100% cashmere
130 x 180 cm
Edition of 85
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
Materials
Tapestry, Other Medium
Untitled (limited edition blanket) blue
By KAWS
Located in London, GB
KAWS
Untitled (limited edition blanket) blue, 2019
100% cashmere
130 x 180 cm
Edition of 85
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints
Materials
Other Medium, Tapestry