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.
KAWS Small Lies Sculptures Set of 3 2017 Brooklyn Street Art Contemporary
By KAWS
Located in Draper, UT
KAWS is a multi-faceted artist straddling the worlds of art and design in his prolific body of work that ranges from paintings, murals, and large-scale sculptures to product design a...
Resin, Acrylic
KAWS WHAT PARTY (KAWS companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS WHAT PARTY (orange): KAWS orange WHAT PARTY Companion featuring KAWS' CHUM character in a hunched position. Published to commemorate the debut of KAWS...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS KACHAMUKKU (complete set of two works)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Kachamukku 2022: complete set of 2 works: KAWS Kachamukku was born out of a unique collaboration between KAWS and the popular children’s Japanese ...
Vinyl, Nylon
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 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
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
KAWS SEPARATED KAWS Changbai (KAWS companion set of 2 works)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS SEPARATED & KAWS Holiday Changbai (set of 2 works): These highly collectible KAWS SEPARATED and KAWS HOLIDAY Changbai figures are derived from the Brooklyn based artist’s larger...
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 GONE Black Companion (black KAWS gone)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS GONE (Black), new & unopened in its original packaging. A well-received work and variation of KAWS' large scale GONE sculpture - a key highlight of KAWS’ recent exhibition, 'KAWS: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS CHUM set of 5 works (KAWS Chum companion set)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS CHUM Companion 2022: set of 5 works: This complete set of 5 KAWS CHUM Companions, was published by KAWS to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his famed Chum character; "I can r...
Resin, Vinyl
Tension 1000% Bearbrick
By KAWS
Located in Washington , DC, DC
Brand new never displayed in original box Open unknown edition Unsigned
Plastic
What Party - (Yellow)
By KAWS
Located in London, GB
Vinyl and cast resin sculpture Stamped signature Presented in original box, and accompanied by unique hologram authenticity number 11 3/8 × 5 1/8 × 3 3/4 in 28.9 × 13 × 9.5 cm Ope...
Resin
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 & brown color-ways. KAWS The Promise features a blue ...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Chum Vinyl Art Toy, Contemporary Sculpture, Open Edition 2022
By KAWS
Located in New York, NY
Painted cast vinyl art toy To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iconic Chum figurine, KAWS released a new set of colors in the summer of 2022. Chum means "a close friend" is not...
Resin, Vinyl
2016 Companion Blush (Flayed) Set vinyl figures by KAWS from Medicom Toy Corp.
By KAWS
Located in Boca Raton, FL
Companion Blush (Flayed) Set of two painted vinyl figures in original 2016 packaging from Medicom Toy Corp. From KAWS' (a.k.a. Brian Donnelly's) open edition release. Unsigned.
Vinyl
KAWS CHUM white (KAWS Chum Companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS CHUM Companion 2022 (white): Published by KAWS to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his famed KAWS’ Chum character; "I can remember clearly packing and shipping the first CHUM...
Resin, Vinyl
$3,040Sale Price|20% Off
KAWS -- 400% Mad Hectic Kubrick
By KAWS
Located in BRUCE, ACT
KAWS 400% Mad Hectic Kubrick, 2003 Painted cast vinyl 10 h × 6¾ w × 3½ d in (25 × 17 × 9 cm) Stamped signature and date to reverse '© KAWS..03'. Impressed title and manufacturer's ...
Vinyl
KAWS - Companion - Black, 2017 - Painted Cast Vinyl
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
KAWS's cartoonish style—including his best-known characters with X-ed out eyes—has its roots in his early career as a street artist, when he began replacing advertisements with his o...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Companion 2016 (KAWS Brown Companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Brown Companion, 2016. New and sealed in its original packaging. This classic KAWS figurative sculpture was published by Medicom Japan in conjunction with the exhibition, KAWS: ...
Resin, Vinyl
Passing Through (Mono) Vinyl Sculpture, Contemporary, 21st Century
By KAWS
Located in Bristol, GB
Painted cast vinyl Edition of 500 (unnumbered, reported) Stamped on the underside of foot Figure in excellent condition, with minor markings. Some minor imperfections may exist given...
Vinyl, Plastic
Rare Carved Wood Kaws Hand Sculpture More Gallery Switzerland Wooden Toy Art
By KAWS
Located in Surfside, FL
Wood hand 2016 walnut 7 h × 4¼ w × 4 d in (18 × 11 × 10 cm) Engraved signature and inscription to underside Kaws: Giswil 12 June-26 August More Gallery This work is from an edition...
Wood
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
Five Years Later Companion (Brown) Vinyl Sculpture, Edition of 500
By KAWS
Located in Bristol, GB
Painted 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...
Vinyl, Plastic
KAWS Companion 2016: set of 6 works (KAWS Flayed KAWS full body 2016)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Companion 2016: Set of 6 works. Each new and sealed in original packaging. Published by Medicom Japan in conjunction with the exhibition, KAWS: Where The End Starts at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. These figurines have since sold out. Set includes 3 colors: Black, Brown and Grey, each in two variations (KAWS full body and KAWS flayed). A standout, definitive KAWS Companion set that would look excellent displayed. New/never displayed & accompanied by original packaging. Medium: Vinyl Paint, Cast Resin. Year: 2016. Dimensions (applies to each individual): 11 × 5 inches. Each new, unopened in in their original packaging. Stamped on the underside of each foot from a sold out edition of unknown. Provenance: MoMa New York. KAWS: A leading artist of his generation, Brooklyn-based KAWS engages audiences beyond the museums and galleries in which he regularly exhibits. KAWS is perhaps best known for his iconic character, Companion, which is featured in key paintings, sculptures, products, and toy figures...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Holiday SPACE Companion (KAWS black space holiday)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS:HOLIDAY SPACE (Black), is a celebration of 20 years of the KAWS Companion. Using a sounding balloon, the KAWS:HOLIDAY SPACE was sent up 41.5km into the stratosphere before retuning to Earth. Reminiscent of KAWS’ MTV VMA Moonman trophy (2013), the sculpture features a derailed space suit complete with hoses, valves and more. A standout KAWS display piece constructed with a bright metallic mirrored feel and much heavier body than the artist’s vinyl pieces. Medium: Polyurethane Figure. Black color way. Year: 2020. Dimensions: 11.5 inches in height. New in original packaging; excellent condition. From a sold out edition of unknown. Stamped on the underside. Published by All Rights Reserved. Artist Statement: “So many projects have been cancelled this...
Polyurethane
$1,020Sale Price|20% Off
KAWS - Companion - Brown version- MOMA 2017 - Painted Cast Vinyl
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
KAWS's cartoonish style—including his best-known characters with X-ed out eyes—has its roots in his early career as a street artist, when he began replacing advertisements with his o...
Resin, Vinyl
$780Sale Price|20% Off
KAWS HOLIDAY Changbai white (KAWS white changbai)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Holiday Changbai Mountain (KAWS white Changbai): A beautifully composed snowy-white KAWS COMPANION published to commemorate KAWS' ...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Take Figure, Pink BFF Companion, Resin and Vinyl Paint, 2010+
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
Several months after releasing the KAWS Share Figure in February, the artist released his long anticipated KAWS Take Figure. The figure, which features a blue BFF holding a brown Com...
Resin, Vinyl
Passing Through (Black) Vinyl Sculpture, Contemporary, 21st Century
By KAWS
Located in Bristol, GB
Painted cast vinyl Edition of 500 (unnumbered, reported) Stamped on the underside of foot New, as issued. Some minor imperfections may exist given the nature of the material. Sold in...
Vinyl, Plastic
Chomper Bearbrick 1000%
By KAWS
Located in Washington , DC, DC
The Be@rbrick is a figure produced by the Japanese company Medicom. With this figure, they have invited different artists and brands to stylize the figure to their own liking. Brand ...
Plastic
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
KAWS limited edition of 500 Olive Oil Tins From Italy with Due Leoni Street Art
By KAWS
Located in Draper, UT
Limited edition of 500. KAWS (b. 1974) is an American artist based in New York City. Over the last two decades KAWS has built a successful career with work that consistently shows h...
Metal
KAWS - What Party - Pink - Pop Art
By KAWS
Located in Asheville, NC
KAWS is a multi-faceted artist straddling the worlds of art and design in his prolific body of work that ranges from paintings, murals, and large-scale sculptures to product design a...
Plastic
$3,960Sale Price|20% Off
KAWS - Clean Slate - Set of 2 - Grey and Black Version
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
KAWS Clean Slate - set of 2 (Grey & Black version), new & unopened in its original packaging. Sold Out versions after the artist's retrospect exhibiti...
Resin, Vinyl
Black Companion Open Edition
By KAWS
Located in Washington , DC, DC
Black Companion Open unknown edition Unsigned
Plastic
Metal Chogokin 200% Dissected Bearbrick
By KAWS
Located in Washington , DC, DC
Beautiful metal KAWS Dissected Bearbrick with articulated joints. Instead of the usual plastic or vinyl used for his toys, this beautiful piece is made ...
Metal
$1,880Sale Price|34% Off
KAWS Clean Slate Vinyl Figure, Grey Version, Pop Art, 2010s, Unsigned
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
KAWS Clean Slate (Grey), new & unopened in its original packaging. Sold Out after the artist's retrospect exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Medium: Vinyl & Cast Res...
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 brown & grey color ways. KAWS The Promise features a blue &...
Resin, Vinyl
Holiday Big Moon By KAWS
By KAWS
Located in Dubai, Dubai
Holiday Big Moon By KAWS KAWS, the pseudonym of American artist Brian Donnelly, is widely recognized for his distinctive blend of street art and pop culture iconography. Renowned f...
Mixed Media
KAWS HOLIDAY Japan (KAWS brown companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Brown Holiday Companion (KAWS Mount Fuji Japan): This sold out figurine features KAWS' signature character COMPANION in a resting position. This figur...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Holiday Taipei (KAWS brown Taipei Companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Brown Holiday Companion (KAWS Taipei): This figurine features KAWS' signature character COMPANION in a resting seated position. The piece was published by All Rights Reserved t...
Vinyl
KAWS SEPARATED set of 2 works (KAWS Separated Companion set)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS SEPARATED (Set of 2 Works: Black & Grey): each new & unopened in original packaging: These highly collectible KAWS SEPARATED figures are derived fr...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS - BBF - Black - Pop Art
By KAWS
Located in Asheville, NC
KAWS BBF - Black Open unknown edition Unsigned KAWS is a multi-faceted artist straddling the worlds of art and design in his prolific body of work that ranges from paintings, murals...
Plastic, Resin
KAWS TAKE Companion (KAWS black companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS TAKE (Black) new & unopened in its original packaging. A standout KAWS Companion figure and variation of KAWS' large scale TAKE sculpture - a key highlight of the exhibition, '...
Resin, Vinyl
$2,080Sale Price|20% Off
KAWS Gone Brown Figure, Pop Art Vinyl & Resin, 14in, Unsigned, 2010+
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
KAWS Gone- Brown version New on its original packaging. Medium: Vinyl & Cast Resin Open unknown edition Unsigned
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS Along The Way: complete set of 3 (KAWS Companion Along The Way set)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Along The Way: Complete Set of 3 works: new and unopened in original packaging. The KAWS Along The Way figurine is a rendition of the artist's 2013 18 foot wood sculpture origin...
Resin, Vinyl
$1,200Sale Price|20% Off
KAWS Blush 2016 & KAWS WHAT PARTY white (set of 2 works)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Red Blush Companion 2016 & KAWS WHAT PARTY white: set of two individual works: Each piece is ew and sealed in its original packaging. The K...
Resin, Vinyl
$1,000Sale Price|20% Off
KAWS Small Lie Black Version Sculpture, Resin and Vinyl Paint, 2010+
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
In December 2017, KAWS released a new version of his classic companion character, titled "Small Lie". The figure features the companion slumped over in what appears to be a disappoin...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS - Holiday: Singapore (Brown Edition) - Pop Art
By KAWS
Located in Asheville, NC
KAWS - Holiday: Singapore (Brown Edition) - Pop Art Artists KAWS Edition Details Year: 2021 Class: Toy Status: Official Released: 11/13/21 Paper: Vinyl Abo...
Resin, Plastic
$1,160Sale Price|29% Off
KAWS - Share Figure - Brown Version _Brand new collectible
By KAWS
Located in Dallas, TX
KAWS SHARE (Brown version), new & unopened in its original packaging: KAWS SHARE first appeared in 'BLACKOUT' – the first London solo exhibition by KAWS (Skarstedt London 2019). In S...
Resin, Vinyl
Kubrick 100% and Bus Stop 2
By KAWS
Located in Washington , DC, DC
Paying homage to KAWS’s humble beginnings as a bus stop advert augmenter and graffiti artist, the “Bus Stop” series features a plastic bus stop and two KA...
Plastic
KAWS - Holiday: Singapore (Black Edition) - Pop Art
By KAWS
Located in Asheville, NC
KAWS - Holiday: Singapore (Black Edition) - Pop Art Artists KAWS Edition Details Year: 2021 Class: Toy Status: Official Released: 11/13/21 Paper: Vinyl Abo...
Resin, Plastic
KAWS - Holiday: Singapore (Grey Edition) - Pop Art
By KAWS
Located in Asheville, NC
KAWS - Holiday: Singapore (Grey Edition) - Pop Art Artists KAWS Edition Details Year: 2021 Class: Toy Status: Official Released: 11/13/21 Paper: Vinyl Abou...
Resin, Plastic
KAWS GONE & KAWS BFF Companions (set of 2 works)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS GONE Brown & KAWS Blue BFF Companions (set of 2 works 2017-2019): Medium: Vinyl paint & Cast Resin (applies to each work). Published 2017 & 2019, respectively. GONE: 14.25 x 7 ...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS SHARE set of 2 works (KAWS Share companion)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS SHARE Companion (Set of 2: Black & Grey): Set of 2 KAWS SHARE figurative sculptures, each new & unopened in its original packaging. KAWS SHARE first appeared in 'BLACKOUT' – th...
Resin, Vinyl
KAWS x Supreme Chalk Logo Skateboard Deck Pink
By KAWS
Located in Dubai, Dubai
Chalk Logo Skateboard Deck, Pink By KAWS KAWS, the pseudonym of American artist Brian Donnelly, is widely recognized for his distinctive blend of street art and pop culture iconog...
Plywood
KAWS Companion 2016: set of 4 works (KAWS companion set)
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS Companions 2016 (Set of 4 individual works): KAWS Companion: Brown, Black, Grey & Red full body 2016 - each, new and sealed in their original packaging. These iconic KAWS figura...
Resin, Vinyl
400% Gray Bearbrick
By KAWS
Located in Washington , DC, DC
Stamped on back leg "KAWS.02" "MEDICOM TOY 2002" Open unknown edition Unsigned
Plastic
KAWS Bus Stop 2002
By KAWS
Located in NEW YORK, NY
KAWS 'Bus Stop' 2002: Paying homage to KAWS’ early days as graffiti artist, the “Bus Stop” features a plastic bus stop and two KAWS toys on the platform. Features iconic KAWS heads, ...
Resin, Vinyl
Accomplice (pink) by KAWS
By KAWS
Located in Dubai, Dubai
Accomplice (pink) By KAWS 2002 Signed in plate Vinyl, paint 23 x 7 x 6 cm Edition of 1000
Vinyl