What Party - Chum (Black)
View Similar Items
KAWSWhat Party - Chum (Black)2020
2020
About the Item
- Creator:KAWS (American)
- Creation Year:2020
- Dimensions:Height: 11.3 in (28.7 cm)Width: 5.08 in (12.9 cm)Depth: 3.67 in (9.3 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Bristol, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: LC-A12631stDibs: LU153127917032
KAWS
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’s oeuvre encompasses art toys, sculptures and colorful 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 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 prints, sculptures and mixed media works on 1stDibs.
- Pinocchio & Jiminy CricketBy KAWSLocated in Bristol, GBPainted cast vinyl Edition of 500 (reported) 26 x 13.5 x 12 / 5.7 x 3 x 2.5 cm (10.2 x 5.3 x 4.7 / 2.2 x 1.2 x 1.1 in) Not signed or numbered Excellent, very minor scratch to Pinocch...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsPlastic, Vinyl
- What Party - Chum (Yellow)By KAWSLocated in Bristol, GBPainted Cast Vinyl Open edition Stamped by the artist's estate New, as issued. Some minor imperfections may exist given the nature of the material Sold in the original packagingCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsPlastic, Vinyl
- What Party - Chum (Black)By KAWSLocated in Bristol, GBPainted Cast Vinyl Open edition Stamped on the underside of the feet New, as issued, with slight manufacturing fault (front of left foot, 0.5cm) Some minor imperfections may exist gi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsVinyl, Plastic
- Companion Flayed (Mono)By KAWSLocated in Bristol, GBPainted Cast Vinyl Open edition Stamped on the underside of feet Excellent, minor production issue with height. Some minor imperfections may exist due to the nature of the material...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsPlastic, Vinyl
- What Party - Chum (Pink)By KAWSLocated in Bristol, GBPainted Cast Vinyl Open edition Stamped on the underside of the feet New, as issued. Some minor imperfections may exist given the nature of the material Sold in the original packagingCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsPlastic, Vinyl
- Five Years Later Companion (Brown)By KAWSLocated in Bristol, GBPainted 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...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsVinyl, Plastic
- Ultra Lumen OGBy Hebru BrantleyLocated in Toronto, CABolder then you expect, this unique sculpture created by Hebru Brantley is exclusive OG/AP addition and is a stunningly fun pop art resin Sculpture with an LED light that comes with detachable cord allowing the piece to be displayed with or without the cord attached. Surprisingly larger then it seems in photos this sculpture is 40.6 x 33 x 39.4cm making it a stand out piece in anyone's collection. This is an AP (Artist Proof) of an addition of only 10 created so it is not only limited, it's rare. The Ultra Lumen...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsVinyl, Resin
- Amanda Polo-neck Belt Skirt Boots -- Multiple, Sculpture, Unique by Julian OpieBy Julian OpieLocated in London, GBStanding Arms Crossed, 2000 Julian Opie Paint and vinyl on wood, black on white sculpture Signed in pen on underside From the edition of three, each a unique colour variant Sculptur...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsVinyl, Wood
- KAWS SHARE brown (KAWS brown companion)By KAWSLocated in NEW YORK, NYKAWS SHARE (Brown), new & unopened in its original packaging. KAWS SHARE first appeared in 'BLACKOUT' – the first London solo exhibition by KAWS (Skarstedt London 2019). In SHARE, K...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Prints and Multiples
MaterialsResin, Vinyl
- Keith Haring Bearbrick 400% figure (Haring Mickey Mouse BE@RBRICK)By (after) Keith HaringLocated in NEW YORK, NYKeith Haring Mickey Mouse Bearbrick: Set of two (400% & 100%): A unique, timeless collectible trademarked & licensed by the Estate of Keith Haring. The partnered collectible reveals Keith Haring's Mickey Mouse artwork...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsVinyl, Resin
- Jackson Pollock Bearbrick 400% figure (Jackson Pollock BE@RBRICK)Located in NEW YORK, NYJackson Pollock 400% & 100% Bearbrick Vinyl Figure (set of 2): A rare highly collectible Bearbrick Jackson Pollock statue piece, splattered from head to toe in Pollock’s signature a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsResin, Vinyl
- AFFIRMATIVE ACTION - Wall Hanging Sculpture w/ Oil Paint, Flowers & VinylLocated in Signal Mountain, TNIn AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, Samuel Dunson creates an epic work that encompasses generations, drawing upon his own personal creative history and inspirations t...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsGlitter, Acrylic, Vinyl
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
How to Spot a Fake KAWS Figure
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.
KAWS Is Having a Major Effect on Popular Culture, Whether on the Street or in Museums
From graffiti tagger to hypebeast obsession to auction hero — we chart the artist’s rise and his widening influence.