Detail of KAWS FINAL DAYS, 2014. Executed in 2014 in afrormosia wood, this work is number 2 from an edition of 3 and 2 artist's proofs.
Sculpted from a gorgeous dark brown African hardwood and weighing in at a half ton, FINAL DAYS is an exemplary work by the intrepid KAWS. The artist's classic revisions of iconic popular culture characters are not only immediately recognizable but also in the spotlight now more than ever.
Featuring KAWS' idolized alterations applied to a hatless Kurf, the sculpture features crossed-out eyes, bones imitating hair and ears, distorted mouth and impeccable fabrication—the traits that have come to define the artist's signature style. While known for his compelling cross-pollination of appropriated imagery, materials and cultural references, KAWS raises the stakes with this piece by using, for the first time, the extremely durable afrormosia wood, imbuing the sculpture with the spiritual energy of the historic lumber. This novel combination of timeless dark hardwood and contemporary iconography first debuted at the artist's major 2014 exhibition of the same name at the Contemporary Art Centre of Málaga.
The charisma of FINAL DAYS emanates from its uncanny relatability and exploration into the inner-world of humanity. Lumbering towards the viewer with its arms held out, the monumental character adopts a gait and expression that distances the piece from associations with childhood and innocence and, instead, elicits sensations of melancholy and loss. Though KAWS states that his work "is a mirror of his own state of mind…and a way of understanding the world around him," as quoted by Arie Bouman for "KAWS at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth" in January 2007, he further elucidates, "it's not important for me to impose those thoughts on the viewer. I would much rather have the work find new meaning to the people that take the time to view it. I don't make work with any specific audience in mind."
I appreciate his perfectionist mentality. It's so over the top.
— KAWS on Jeff Koons
KAWS Final Days, 2013. 6 meters tall, this example was exhibited at Frieze Sculpture, London, 5 July-8 October 2017. Photo: Danielle So
While the masterful Warholian-style re-appropriation of pop icons in FINAL DAYS emanate from the artist's early venture into the visual culture of New York street art, its deep-seated respect for craftsmanship and association with collecting as a mode of identity stem from the artist's first travels to Japan in 1996. When interviewed by actor Tobey Maguire for Interview Magazine in April 2010, KAWS described how "artists like [Takashi] Murakami…really opened up a lot of doors on acceptance and crossover projects" In response to the conventional distinction between 'toys' and 'sculptures', KAWS responded: "To me it's the same thing...I always thought it was funny how people like to put things in categories and label them...in the end, my thought process is the same."
To create this larger-than-life wooden sculpture, KAWS had cut the wood pieces in Amsterdam before shipping them to Maastricht for hand-finishing, making FINAL DAYS a truly global work of art.
This level of expertise and precision furthermore extends from the artist's admiration of Jeff Koons, whom KAWS commended in his interview with Maguire: "I appreciate his perfectionist mentality. It's so over the top."