What is the KAWS character called?

What the KAWS character is called depends on which one you mean, as KAWS has created more than one. Companion is the most visible of the KAWS posse, appearing over the past decade in new postures and iterations in both monumental KAWS statues and small figures. The character is a reimagining of Mickey Mouse with a skull-and-crossbones head and trademark XX eyes. Other KAWS characters include Accomplice, Chum and Bendy. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of KAWS art.

What is a KAWS companion?

Kaws'%20Companion%20is%20a%20clown-like%20figure%20based%20on%20a%20Mickey%20Mouse%20with%20X-ed%20out%20eyes.

How can you tell if a KAWS Companion is real?

To tell if a KAWS Companion is real, assess its overall quality. All authentic KAWS figures will feel solid and dense. If it’s hollow, it’s likely not a KAWS. And be skeptical of any product marked “factory error.” KAWS spends a great deal of time perfecting every limited-edition design and would never release a less-than-flawless creation. Smudged, deformed or misaligned details are highly unlikely on an authentic KAWS; it’s more probable that “factory error” and “sample” are simply more appealing terms for “unauthorized copy.” Also, look for the product’s correct year of creation and © KAWS stamped on the bottom of the doll. Some models should have the series name or toy manufacturer on them as well. Knowing the characteristics of the particular figure you're purchasing can also help you determine if the toy is authentic. When in doubt, enlist the help of a knowledgeable expert, such as a certified appraiser or experienced art dealer. On 1stDibs, shop a selection of KAWS art.

Brian Donnelly

Materials

Vinyl

KAWSKaws Passing Through Companion (Black Kaws Companion), 2013

Sold

H 12 in W 3 in

Kaws Passing Through Companion (Black Kaws Companion)

By KAWS

Located in NEW YORK, NY

Excellent condition. More on Artist Born Brian Donnelly in 1974, KAWS grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he emerged as a graffiti artist in the early 1990s.

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Figurative Sculptures

Twins by Kaws and Todd James

Sold

H 8.27 in W 2.76 in D 2.37 in

Twins by Kaws and Todd James

By KAWS

Located in Weesp, NL

This venture ended on May 31, 2013 as KAWS and Medicom Toys decided to close down the Original Fake brand after almost seven years on the street-wear scene. KAWS was born Brian Donne...

Category

Early 2000s American Figurative Sculptures

Twins by Kaws and Todd James, 2004

Sold

H 8.27 in W 2.76 in D 2.37 in

Twins by Kaws and Todd James, 2004

By KAWS

Located in Weesp, NL

This venture ended on May 31, 2013 as KAWS and Medicom Toys decided to close down the Original Fake brand after almost seven years on the street-wear scene. KAWS was born Brian Donne...

Materials

Materials

Cane, Rosewood

French Midcentury Brass Circular Birdcage with Decorative Bird

$2,100

H 33.5 in Dm 14.25 in

French Midcentury Brass Circular Birdcage with Decorative Bird

Located in Atlanta, GA

This French brass circular birdcage from the Midcentury period is a delightful combination of form and whimsy, perfect for adding a touch of vintage charm to any interior. Crafted wi...

Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Bird Cages

Materials

Brass

$80,000

H 14.25 in W 68 in D 34 in

George Nakashima English Walnut Conoid Coffee Table

By George Nakashima, George Nakashima Studio

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Coffee table from American mid-century craftsman George Nakashima. The table crafted of english walnut, c.1971 features a live edge slab table top with single spindle support and liv...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables

Materials

Walnut

Jaime Hayon & Nani Marquina 'Nani x Hayon' Wall Tapestry 130x120cm

$1,665 / item

H 47.25 in W 51.19 in D 0.79 in

Jaime Hayon & Nani Marquina 'Nani x Hayon' Wall Tapestry 130x120cm

By Jaime Hayon, Nanimarquina

Located in Tilburg, NL

Jaime Hayon & Nani Marquina 'Nani x Hayon' wall tapestry Hayon x Nani, size 120x130, comes with wall hanging solution made with fabric sleeves sewn to the top back of the rug...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary European Mid-Century Modern Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Sistema Chandelier by Piattelli Design, 4-shade

$4,547 / item

H 14.57 in Dm 33.08 in

Sistema Chandelier by Piattelli Design, 4-shade

By Bruno Gatta, Silvio Piattelli, Stilnovo

Located in Tavarnelle val di Pesa, Florence

This chandelier uses an ingenious rotating stem structure and features a shallow drum-shaped shade at the end of each arm. They work well in any space and suit both regular and low-c...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and...

Materials

Brass

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Brian Donnelly For Sale on 1stDibs

At 1stDibs, there are many versions of the ideal brian donnelly for your home. Frequently made of paper, every brian donnelly was constructed with great care. There are many kinds of the brian donnelly you’re looking for, from those produced as long ago as the 20th Century to those made as recently as the 21st Century. You’ll likely find more than one brian donnelly that is appealing in its simplicity, but KAWS produced versions that are worth a look.

How Much is a Brian Donnelly?

A brian donnelly can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price 1stDibs is $2,200, while the lowest priced sells for $65 and the highest can go for as much as $49,950.

KAWS for sale on 1stDibs

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.

Questions About KAWS

What is the KAWS character called?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertNovember 26, 2024
What the KAWS character is called depends on which one you mean, as KAWS has created more than one. Companion is the most visible of the KAWS posse, appearing over the past decade in new postures and iterations in both monumental KAWS statues and small figures. The character is a reimagining of Mickey Mouse with a skull-and-crossbones head and trademark XX eyes. Other KAWS characters include Accomplice, Chum and Bendy. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of KAWS art.
What is a KAWS companion?
1 Answer
Irena Orlov ArtMarch 1, 2021
Kaws' Companion is a clown-like figure based on a Mickey Mouse with X-ed out eyes.
How can you tell if a KAWS Companion is real?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertAugust 29, 2024
To tell if a KAWS Companion is real, assess its overall quality. All authentic KAWS figures will feel solid and dense. If it’s hollow, it’s likely not a KAWS. And be skeptical of any product marked “factory error.” KAWS spends a great deal of time perfecting every limited-edition design and would never release a less-than-flawless creation. Smudged, deformed or misaligned details are highly unlikely on an authentic KAWS; it’s more probable that “factory error” and “sample” are simply more appealing terms for “unauthorized copy.” Also, look for the product’s correct year of creation and © KAWS stamped on the bottom of the doll. Some models should have the series name or toy manufacturer on them as well. Knowing the characteristics of the particular figure you're purchasing can also help you determine if the toy is authentic. When in doubt, enlist the help of a knowledgeable expert, such as a certified appraiser or experienced art dealer. On 1stDibs, shop a selection of KAWS art.

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.