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.
$122Sale Price|30% Off
Kaws Kubrick Bus Stop Set 1 (KM002)
By KAWS
Located in Englishtown, NJ
Ready to display super cool Kaws Kubrick Bus Stop Set 1. Released in 2002. Comes complete with 2 mini Kaws figures and bus stop in their original packaging. Figures are stamped with ...
Resin
$122Sale Price|30% Off
Kaws Kubrick Bus Stop Set 2 (KM002)
By KAWS
Located in Englishtown, NJ
Ready to display super cool Kaws Kubrick Bus Stop Set-2. Released in 2002. Comes complete with 2 mini Kaws figures and bus stop in their original packaging. Figures are stamped with ...
Resin
KAWS Holiday Taipei (KAWS Black Companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Black Holiday Companion (KAWS Taipei) This figurative vinyl sculpture features KAWS' signature character COMPANION in a resting seated position. Published by All Rights Reserve...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS BFF Black (KAWS BFF Companion)
By KAWS
Located in London, GB
KAWS KAWS BFF Black (KAWS BFF Companion), 2017 Vinyl and cast resin sculpture Signature to feet Presented in original box, and accompanied by unique ho...
Resin
$26,800Sale Price|20% Off
BNIB 1000% Grey Bearbrick
By KAWS
Located in Washington , DC, DC
Extremely rare to find this older work in brand new undisplayed condition with original box. Any defects are from the manufacturer. This 1000% Gray Be@rbrick by KAWS is from 2002, very early into his career. It features his signature XX'd eyes and hands perfectly executed on this large Be@rbrick that stands 28 inches tall. With articulating parts allowing for movement of different body parts, it is also able to be put into different positions. A nice large piece by the increasingly popular KAWS. The Be@rbrick is a figure produced by the Japanese company...
Plastic
$6,800Sale Price|20% Off
Bounty Hunter BXH Companion
By KAWS
Located in Washington , DC, DC
In collaboration with Real Mad Hectic, and produced by Bounty Hunter, this piece depicts KAWS’s signature figure, Companion, in Black. This human/animal/cartoon hybrid has a Mickey Mouse body, complete with gloves, shorts, and clown-like shoes...
Paint
KAWS WHAT PARTY pink (KAWS companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS WHAT PARTY (pink): KAWS pink WHAT PARTY Companion featuring KAWS' CHUM character in a hunched position. Published to commemorate the debut of KAWS’ larger scale sculptural versi...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS BFF Companion (KAWS BFF black)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Black BFF new, unopened in its original packaging. A well-received work and variation of KAWS' large scale BFF sculpture is in Los Angeles's Playa Vista neighborhood. Medium: ...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS TIME OFF pink (KAWS Time Off companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS TIME OFF: A highly decorative KAWS Companion featuring KAWS’ much popularized BFF Companion in a resting position. This brightly colored, highly collectible KAWS Companion was p...
Resin, Vinyl
Seeing Blue (BFF Lamp) By Kaws
By KAWS
Located in Dubai, Dubai
Seeing Blue (BFF Lamp) By Kaws KAWS, the pseudonym of American artist Brian Donnelly, is widely recognized for his distinctive blend of street art and pop culture iconography. Ren...
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...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Clean Slate Grey (KAWS grey Companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Clean Slate (grey) new & unopened in its original packaging. A well-received work and variation of KAWS' large scale Clean Slate sculpture - a key highlight of KAWS’ major mus...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS MONSTER (KAWS Companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Monster: A highly collectible & super decorative KAWS art toy, featuring the artist’s rendition of the famed cereal character Frute Brute. A playful exploration of KAWS’s love for these timeless pop cultural characters featuring his signature motifs. New / never displayed; accompanied by full original packaging. Medium: Vinyl art toy. Approximately: 11.4 × 6.3 inches. New in original packaging. Published by the artist from a sold out edition of unknown. Further background: “Inspired by classic horror film characters, the Monster Cereals...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS FAMILY (grey KAWS Family companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS FAMILY 2021: A well-received work and variation of KAWS' larger FAMILY sculpture - this highly collectible KAWS Companion set was published on the occ...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Changbai brown (KAWS holiday chanbgai)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Holiday Changbai Mountain (KAWS brown Changbai): A beautifully composed KAWS COMPANION published to commemorate KAWS' larger-scale ...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS TIME OFF blue (KAWS Time Off companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS TIME OFF Blue: A highly decorative KAWS Companion featuring KAWS’ much popularized BFF Companion in a resting position. This brightly colored, highly collectible KAWS Companion ...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS TAKE Blue (blue KAWS Take companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS TAKE (Blue) new & unopened in its original packaging. A standout KAWS figurative sculpture and variation of KAWS' large scale TAKE sculpture - a key highlight of the exhibition...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Companion: set of 10 works (KAWS Brown Companion set)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Companion 2016-2021: A sharply curated set of 10 distinguished individual Brown KAWS Companions new & unopened in original packaging. Dimensions as follows: KAWS Clean Slate, 2...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Companion 2016: set of 2 works (KAWS companion set)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Companion 2016 (Set of 2 individual works): each, new and sealed in their original packaging. These iconic KAWS figurative sculptures were published by Medicom Japan in conjunct...
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...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS SHARE & KAWS TAKE (set of 2 KAWS companions)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS SHARE (Grey) & KAWS TAKE (Pink): Set of 2 KAWS figurative sculptures, each new & unopened and accompanied by original packaging. Medium: Painted Vinyl Cast Resin (applies to each). SHARE: 12.4 x 6.3 inches. TAKE: 13.4 x 6 inches. Condition: New, unopened in original box; excellent condition (applies to each). Each from a sold out edition of unknown. Stamped on the underside of each foot. Packed safely & professionally. We are a trusted leading seller in this category. KAWS uses two of his characters here to convey opposing human attitudes. In the sculpture TAKE, the BFF holds a child Companion defensively, pulling it back in a gesture of mistrust as if to prevent someone else from touching it; the child cowed looks to the ground, the fear is transferred. In SHARE, the Companion is secure and looks outward, holding but not attached to the toy in its hand. KAWS’ figures...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Clean Slate Companion (KAWS brown clean slate)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Clean Slate (Brown), new & unopened in its original packaging. A well-received work and variation of KAWS' large scale Clean Slate sculpture - a key ...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Singapore brown (KAWS Holiday companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Brown Holiday Companion (KAWS Singapore): This standout KAWS art toy features KAWS' signature character COMPANION in a resting position. Published to commemorate the debut of K...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Tension Bearbrick 400% (KAWS Tension Be@rbrick)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Tension Bearbrick 400%: This much sought-after KAWS Tension Be@rbrick figure features the artist's signature "X"’s and bright lush colors synonymous with his more abstract works on canvas. Accompanied by its original box with an authenticating hologram on the lower reverse, this sold-out limited run work was published in Japan upon the debut of the ‘KAWS Tokyo...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS - Along The Way - Grey Version
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
KAWS Along The Way - Grey version New & unopened in its original packaging. Medium: Vinyl & Cast Resin Open unknown edition Unsigned Provenance: Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Resin, Vinyl
$268Sale Price|34% Off
KAWS, New Fiction Book, 2023
By KAWS
Located in Manchester, GB
KAWS, New Fiction Book, 2023 9 1/2 × 7 7/10 in 24.1 × 19.6 cm Hand-signed New Fiction hardback book from Phaidon's sold out release featuring 230 illustrations in this 280-page boo...
Magazine Paper
$3,424Sale Price|25% Off
KAWS x Peanuts Joe Snoopy Vinyl Figure
By KAWS
Located in BRUCE, ACT
KAWS x Peanuts Joe Snoopy Vinyl Figure, 2011 The KAWS x Peanuts Joe Snoopy Vinyl Figure stands about 21 cm tall, and the mostly white Joe Snoopy is donning a yellow t-shirt with "JOE...
Vinyl
KAWS SHARE brown (KAWS brown companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS 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...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Along The Way Grey (grey KAWS Companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Along The Way (Grey). New and unopened in its original box: This highly collectible KAWS Along The Way figure is a rendition of the artist's 2013 18 foot wood sculpture origina...
Resin, Vinyl
$6,160Sale Price|30% Off
KAWS -- Star Wars Stormtrooper Companion
By KAWS
Located in BRUCE, ACT
KAWS Star Wars Stormtrooper Companion, 2008 Painted cast vinyl Size 24.8 x 11.4 x 7.6 CM Edition Size: 500 Stamped underfoot Publisher: Medicom Toy The KAWS Star Wars Storm Troope...
Vinyl
KAWS THE PROMISE (KAWS The Promise Grey)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS The Promise (grey): A unique KAWS Companion featuring a blue & green globe being affectionately shared between parent & child. This timeless, highly collectible KAWS art toy was...
Resin, Vinyl
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...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS HOLIDAY Space & United Kingdom (set of 2 works)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS HOLIDAY SPACE (Silver) & KAWS HOLIDAY United Kingdom: set of two works (2020/2021): This set features two KAWS Holiday pieces: KAWS HOLIDAY SPACE is a celebration of 20 years o...
Resin, Vinyl, Polyurethane
KAWS SMALL LIE Black (Black KAWS Small Lie Companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS SMALL LIE Companion: Black: Among KAWS’s signature “Companions,” Small Lie has the most childlike resonance. Clothed in overall shorts, the Pinocchio-inspired figure bows its he...
Resin, Vinyl
Signed KAWS ONE monograph (signed KAWS Tokyo 2001)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Signed KAWS ONE Artist Book 2001: hand signed KAWS ONE artist book, Tokyo, Japan, 2001. An early monograph documenting KAWS’ seminal New York bus ad “interruptions”, and renown ear...
Paper
$210Sale Price|30% Off
Kaws Holiday Hong Kong 20″ Plush (Black)
By KAWS
Located in Englishtown, NJ
Black Kaws 20" plush with yellow X eyes. Limited edition only released for the Hong Kong holiday collection. Kaws tags with info attached as issued. Comes with Kaws Authenticity card...
Polyester
Exposed, early (1999) softcover monograph published in France, edition of 2000
By KAWS
Located in New York, NY
KAWS Exposed, 1999 Early Illustrated softcover book with French folded flaps, published in Paris 8 4/5 × 6 1/5 inches Limited Edition of 2000 Published by Colette and printed by La P...
Offset
$210Sale Price|30% Off
Kaws Holiday Hong Kong 20″ Plush (Brown)
By KAWS
Located in Englishtown, NJ
Brown Kaws 20" plush with signature X eyes. Limited edition only released for the Hong Kong holiday collection. Kaws tags with info attached as issued. Comes with Kaws Authenticity c...
Polyester
KAWS Holiday Singapore (KAWS Holiday companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Black Holiday Companion (KAWS Singapore): This standout KAWS art toy features KAWS' signature character COMPANION in a resting position. Published to commemorate the debut of K...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS MONSTERS: set of 2 works (KAWS Companion set)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Monsters (set of 2 works): A highly collectible & super decorative set of KAWS art toys, featuring the famed cereal characters: Frankenberry & Count Chocula. A playful exploration of KAWS’s love for these timeless pop cultural characters featuring his signature motifs. Each new / never displayed; accompanied by full original packaging. Medium: Vinyl art toys; set of 2 individual works. Approximate dimensions of each individual work: 11.4 × 6.3 inches. New in original packaging. Published by the artist from a sold out edition of unknown. Further background: “Inspired by classic horror film characters, the Monster Cereals...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS The Promise set of 2 works (KAWS Companion set)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS The Promise (set of 2 works): A unique KAWS Companion set in the artist’s signature black & grey color ways. KAWS The Promise features a blue &...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Companion 2016: complete set of 8 works (KAWS Flayed KAWS full body 2016)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Companion 2016, Complete Set of 8 works. Each new and sealed in original packaging. Published by Medicom Japan in conjunction with the exhibition, KAWS: Where The End Starts at ...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS MONSTERS: complete set of 4 works (KAWS Companion set)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Monsters (complete set of 4 works): A highly collectible & super decorative complete set of KAWS art toys, featuring the famed cereal characters: Frankenberry, Count Chocula, Bo...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS COMPANION 2020 (KAWS grey 2020 companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS 2020 Companion (Grey): KAWS COMPANION 2020 was created by KAWS to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his signature figure, Companion — and a...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS 2019 "Along the Way" Gray Set of two vinyl figures from Medicom Toy Corp.
By KAWS
Located in Boca Raton, FL
"Along the Way" set of two gray painted vinyl figures from open edition released in 2019 by artist KAWS (a.k.a. Brian Donnelly) in original box from Medico...
Vinyl
KAWS Taipei & KAWS Singapore (KAWS Holiday Taipei KAWS Holiday Singapore)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Holiday Taipei & KAWS Holiday Singapore: A curated set of 2 KAWS Holiday figures featuring KAWS Companion in two distinctive positions. Each piece was published by the artist to...
Vinyl
What Party - (Pink)
By KAWS
Located in London, GB
Vinyl and cast resin sculpture Presented in the original box, and accompanied by a unique hologram authenticity number 11 1/4 × 1 1/8 × 3 3/4 in 28.6 × 2.9 × 9.5 cm Open unknown e...
Resin
$1,160Sale Price|20% Off
KAWS - Take Figure - Blue Version _BFF Companion
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
$1,221Sale Price|20% Off
Chul-Su - Squid Game
By KAWS
Located in London, GB
KAWS, the renowned contemporary artist, has collaborated with Netflix and AllRightsReserved to reinterpret "Chul-Su," from the popular series Squid Game. This collaboration has res...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS HOLIDAY Changbai black (KAWS black chanbgai)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Holiday Changbai Mountain (KAWS black Changbai): A beautifully composed KAWS COMPANION published to commemorate KAWS' larger-scale sculpture...
Resin, Vinyl
$480Sale Price|20% Off
KAWS Monster posters set of 4 (KAWS posters)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS General Mills posters: complete set of 4 works (2022): These highly decorative KAWS posters feature the artist's rendition of iconic cereal characters, Boo-Berry, Count Chocula,...
Paper
KAWS Holiday Pink Bunny Rabbit Comes With NFC Chip Contemporary Street Art
By KAWS
Located in Draper, UT
Kaws: Holiday Edition Figure (Pink) Open unknown edition Unsigned KAWS is one of the most popular and recognizable contemporary artists, whose reach extends far beyond the art world...
Resin
KAWS KACHAMUKKU Companion
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Kachamukku 2022: KAWS Kachamukku was born out of a unique collaboration between KAWS and the popular children’s Japanese Sesame Street equivalent...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS SEPARATED Companion (KAWS black Separated Companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS SEPARATED COMPANION: New & unopened in its original packaging: This highly collectible black KAWS SEPARATED figure is derived from the Brooklyn based artist’s larger scale sculpture of same (originally constructed in 2019), and is a key highlight of the major 2021 KAWS Brooklyn...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS UK Holiday Black (KAWS Holiday UK)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS: HOLIDAY United Kingdom Black (KAWS UK): KAWS' signature character COMPANION presented in an upright standing position with its eyes covered. New in thei...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Holiday Companion (KAWS holiday Hong Kong)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Hon Kong 'Holiday' Companion 2019: This figurine was published by All Rights Reserved to commemorate the debut of a large scale KAWS floating figure in Hong Kong's Victoria Harb...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Companion 2016 (set of 3 KAWS Flayed companions)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Flayed Companion 2016: Set of 3 individual works. KAWS Black Flayed, KAWS Brown Flayed & KAWS Grey Flayed Companions - each, new and sealed in origin...
Resin, Vinyl
$1,144Sale Price|20% Off
Young-Hee - Squid Game
By KAWS
Located in London, GB
KAWS, the renowned contemporary artist, has collaborated with Netflix and AllRightsReserved to reinterpret "Young-Hee," the iconic doll from the popular series Squid Game. This col...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Hand Signed Book Contemporary Street Art
By KAWS
Located in Draper, UT
The definitive study of the work of KAWS, one of the most influential and much-loved forces in contemporary art and culture. This edition has been signed by KAWS. KAWS is one of the...
Archival Paper
KAWS FAMILY set of 2 works (brown & grey KAWS Family companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS FAMILY 2021 set of 2 (KAWS FAMILY brown & KAWS FAMILY grey): A well-received work and variation of KAWS' larger FAMILY sculpture - this highly collectible KAWS Companion set was...
Resin, Vinyl