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KAWS, 'THE WALK HOME', Lot 17
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale, 16 May 2019
Provenance
Private Collection, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Catalogue Essay
Painted in 2012, KAWS’s THE WALK HOME is a quintessential example of the artist’s ability to communicate complex human emotion through reclaimed cartoon imagery. In the present work, KAWS depicts the ever‐popular animated character, SpongeBob SquarePants, using line and flat, evenly saturated colors in “an almost rubber-like matte finish”, similar to that of cartoons or toys (KAWS, quoted in KAWS: WHERE THE END STARTS, exh. cat., Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 2016, p. 72). KAWS makes SpongeBob his own by obliterating the character’s eyes with his signature X-motifs. Presented on a scale akin to the grand tradition of history painting, KAWS captures the moment when SpongeBob, teetering on the heels of his bright red shoes, appears to be scared off his feet, his mouth agape in a shriek. Surrounding SpongeBob are over a dozen pairs of disembodied arms, echoing the protagonist’s own raised limbs. In their disembodiment, these fragmented forms serve as a precursor to KAWS’s more recent work where he strips cartoon visages of the salient features that convey emotion and reconstitutes those elements into an abstracted amalgamation.

In THE WALK HOME, the catalyst of SpongeBob’s overwhelming anxiety is placed beyond the confines of the picture plane. The audible manifestation of the scene is conveyed in the repeated arms contained within the compositional frame, that ostensibly function like the physical action exclamations of cartoons like “POW!” or “BAM!”. This technique more aptly recalls a scene on infinite loop, one that never comes to narrative fruition, rather than a cartoon strip. In so doing, KAWS succeeds in emphasizing the magnitude of emotion captured in a single moment. By starting with the cartoon as his reference point, a genre characterized by short narratives, KAWS utilizes the televised series’ simplification for his greater goal. Combined with his deconstructive approach of isolating parts of the whole to comprise his seemingly familiar vignettes, KAWS complicates the viewer’s narrative reading of the scene and compels us to imbue the work with our own suppositions. As curator Mónica Ramírez-Montagut explains, “…we recognize the cartoon characters yet, with KAWS’s intervention, the meaning becomes somewhat subverted…Since we are familiar with these characters…we in fact feel empowered to ponder the meaning and have an opinion. Thus it is up to us to decide whether these are homages or criticisms” (Mónica Ramírez-Montagut, KAWS, exh. brochure, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, 2010, online).

Despite being rooted in their source imagery, KAWS’s paintings are not appropriations of specific animated cartoon narratives but rather broader interrogations of universal human emotions. Of his practice, KAWS has espoused, “even though I use a comic language, my figures are not always reflecting the idealistic cartoon view that I grew up on, where everything has a happy ending” (KAWS, quoted in KAWS: WHERE THE END STARTS, exh. cat., Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 2016, p. 5). Indeed the overtly emotional reaction KAWS conveys here with SpongeBob, which is further reinforced by the repeated limbs in the air, seems to have more in common with such emotionally-laden works as Francisco de Goya’s politically charged The Third of May 1808 than any plotline from the children’s cartoon show. With this in mind, THE WALK HOME serves primarily as a study in pure human emotion, one that is universally understood and transcends nationality, culture and time.

The conflation of high and low culture is a common thread throughout KAWS’s varied and diverse practice, which includes painting, sculpture, printmaking, street art and clothing design. Following his limited edition toys of the late 1990s, of which the subjects were KAWS’s own creations, the artist turned to familiar television and cartoon icons such as The Simpsons, Mickey Mouse, the Smurfs, and SpongeBob in the early 2000s. Created by marine science educator Stephen Hillenburg in the late 1990s, SpongeBob SquarePants is the highest rated series to ever air on the children’s cartoon network, Nickelodeon. Speaking about his use of SpongeBob’s character in his practice, KAWS said “…SpongeBob was something I wanted to do because graphically I love the shapes. But honestly, when I’m painting SpongeBob, I’m not thinking, ‘Oh, I loved this episode.’ Honestly, I’ve never even watched it” (KAWS, quoted in Tobey Maguire, “KAWS”, Interview Magazine, April 27, 2010, online).
Artist Biography
KAWS
American • 1974
To understand the work of KAWS is to understand his roots in the skateboard and graffiti crews of New York City. Brian Donnelly chose KAWS as his moniker to tag city streets beginning in the 1990s, and quickly became a celebrated standout in the scene. Having swapped spray paint for explorations in fine art spanning sculpture, painting and collage, KAWS has maintained a fascination with classic cartoons, including Garfield, SpongeBob SquarePants and The Simpsons, and reconfigured familiar subjects into a world of fantasy.
Perhaps he is most known for his larger-than-life fiberglass sculptures that supplant the body of Mickey Mouse onto KAWS' own imagined creatures, often with 'x'-ed out eyes or ultra-animated features. However, KAWS also works frequently in neon and vivid paint, adding animation and depth to contemporary paintings filled with approachable imagination. There is mass appeal to KAWS, who exhibits globally and most frequently in Asia, Europe and the United States.
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Ο◆17

KAWS

THE WALK HOME

signed, titled and dated "KAWS..12 THE WALK HOME.." on the reverse
acrylic on canvas
68 1/8 x 86 1/4 in. (173 x 219.1 cm.)
Painted in 2012.

Estimate
$600,000 - 800,000

Sold for $5,955,000

Contact Specialist
Amanda Lo Iacono
Head of Evening Sale
New York
+1 212 940 1278

20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale

New York Auction 16 May | On View at 432 and 450 Park Avenue

1
Donald Judd
Untitled
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $1,820,000
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2
Roy Lichtenstein
Small Wall Explosion
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for $860,000
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3
Andy Warhol
David Hockney
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $1,040,000
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4
Andy Warhol
Two Coke Bottles
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for $1,580,000
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5
Roy Lichtenstein
Modern Painting
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for $2,900,000
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6
Robert Motherwell
Open No. 119: In Blue with Charcoal Line
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for $1,520,000
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7
Roy Lichtenstein
Horse and Rider
Estimate $6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Sold for $5,955,000
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8
Andy Warhol
Roy Lichtenstein
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $475,000
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9
Andy Warhol
9 Flowers
Estimate $2,500,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for $2,600,000
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10
Fernando Botero
The Lovers
Estimate $450,000 - 550,000
Sold for $524,000
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11
Alexander Calder
Black Gamma
Estimate $5,000,000 - 7,000,000
Sold for $5,477,500
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12
David Hockney
Study from Parade Triple Bill
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $437,500
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13
Andy Warhol
Soup Can
Estimate $700,000 - 900,000
Sold for $500,000
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14
Joan Miró
Conque
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $800,000
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15
Alexander Calder
White Versus Yellow
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $1,400,000
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16
Nicolas Party
Landscape
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $608,000
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17
KAWS
THE WALK HOME
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $5,955,000
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18
Jordan Casteel
Self Portrait
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $237,500
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19
KAWS
UNTITLED (MBFU9)
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $1,340,000
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20
Tomoo Gokita
Be Just Like Family
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $1,076,000
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21
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Robot Man
Estimate $2,500,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for $3,860,000
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22
Yayoi Kusama
Accumulation by Space (No.62.CO.)
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $2,060,000
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23
Eva Hesse
No title
Estimate $2,500,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for $3,980,000
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24
Mark Bradford
Helter Skelter II
Estimate $8,000,000 - 12,000,000
Sold for $8,475,250
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25
Richard Diebenkorn
Untitled
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,220,000
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26
Frank Stella
Scramble: Descending Blue Values/Ascending Spectrum
Estimate $2,500,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for $3,020,000
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27
Willem de Kooning
Untitled XVI
Estimate $8,000,000 - 12,000,000
Sold for $10,268,000
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28
David Hockney
Iris with Evian Bottle
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for $2,204,000
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29
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Self Portrait
Estimate $9,000,000 - 12,000,000
Sold for $9,500,000
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30
Keith Haring and LA II (Angel Ortiz)
Untitled (Two-Panel Mural)
Estimate $700,000 - 900,000
Sold for $1,040,000
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31
Donald Judd
Untitled
Estimate $1,250,000 - 1,750,000
Sold for $1,385,000
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32
Robert Motherwell
Untitled (Elegy)
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for $4,580,000
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33
Pat Steir
Monk Tuyu Meditating Waterfall
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $800,000
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34
Dana Schutz
Signing
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $980,000
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35
Robert Colescott
Knowledge of the Past is the Key to the Future: The Original
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $400,000
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36
This lot is no longer available.
37
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled (Piss Piss Piss Piss)
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $620,000
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38
Cy Twombly
Untitled
Estimate $4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for $4,700,000
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39
This lot is no longer available.
40
Mark Tansey
View from Mt. Hermeneut
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,040,000
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41
Christopher Wool
Untitled
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
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42
Jean Dubuffet
Ciboulot Pistolet
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $500,000
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43
El Anatsui
Alter Ego
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for $860,000
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44
Anish Kapoor
Untitled
Estimate $700,000 - 900,000
Sold for $860,000
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45
Chris Ofili
The Naked Spirit of Captain Shit and the Legend of the Black Stars
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $475,000
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20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale

New York Auction 16 May | On View at 432 and 450 Park Avenue

Create your first list.

Video

Provenance

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

KAWS

Ο◆17

KAWS

THE WALK HOME

20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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