Provenance
Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles
Private Collection, Italy
Private Collection, London
Exhibited
Ridgefield, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, KAWS: Solo Show, 27 June 2010 - 2 January 2011
Catalogue Essay
KAWS, born Brian Donnelly, creates bold, bright work that brings together the spheres of fine art and commerce. The name KAWS was originally
his graffiti tag, Donnelly claims “there’s no meaning to it” and he was simply attracted to the arrangement of the letters. His refined comic book
aesthetic clearly derives some of its character from his early graffiti work in its bold colours and lines. His oeuvre reinterprets cartoon figures such
as SpongeBob Square Pants, Mickey Mouse and the Smurfs, characters widely familiar to a vast audience. His work is intended to be accessible to
everyone: “I just want to make stuff that no one is ever too stupid to get.” (KAWS quoted in Cesar Pesari, KAWS Covers Paper Magazine’s November
2013 Art Issue, 6 November, 2013). Having worked briefly for Disney after graduating from the School of Visual Arts in New York, KAWS is well placed
to transform and re-imagine today’s most iconic characters.

KAWS describes his acrylic paintings as “graphic shapes that may or may not recall familiar imagery” (KAWS, www.blouinartinfo.com). The
paintings are not made in a traditional way: he first draws the image by hand, then redraws it on a computer using Adobe Illustrator. The image
is then printed out and projected, from which the final painting is made.

In Projector, the large X that dominates the canvas references his cartoon figures, for which he replaces their eyes with Xs. The image can therefore
be understood as an abstracted version of one of his cartoon characters. The storage of the painting in an acrylic box refers to collectible toys -
KAWS is famed for his plastic toys which, like his paintings, revisit popular characters. By packaging the paintings in such a way, KAWS attempted
to bridge the gap between toys and art. KAWS’s wide-ranging production straddles fine and commercial art, disturbing the traditional hierarchy. For
KAWS, art and product are one and the same. Fine art, therefore, has not been his sole focus, instead his “goal has been just to figure out how to get
through life making stuff.”
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.
View More Works

29

KAWS

Projector

2010
acrylic on canvas
153 x 152.8 cm (60 1/4 x 60 1/8 in.)
Signed and dated 'KAWS 10' on the reverse.

Estimate
£60,000 - 80,000

Sold for £98,500

Contact Specialist
Peter Sumner
Head of Contemporary Art, London
psumner@phillips.com
+44 207 318 4063

Contemporary Evening Sale

London Auction 2 July 2014 7pm

1
David Ostrowski
F (Gee Vaucher)
Estimate £30,000 - 50,000 ♠†
Sold for £170,500
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2
Tauba Auerbach
Untitled (Fold)
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡
Sold for £386,500
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3
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ♠
Sold for £842,500
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4
Lucien Smith
Boys Don't Cry
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ‡
Sold for £116,500
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5
Wade Guyton
Untitled
Estimate £500,000 - 700,000 ‡
Sold for £602,500
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6
Mark Bradford
An Opening On The Left
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000
Sold for £698,500
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7
Sterling Ruby
SP33
Estimate £500,000 - 700,000 †
Sold for £542,500
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8
Richard Prince
My Life as a Weapon
Estimate £550,000 - 750,000 ‡
Sold for £680,500
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9
Andy Warhol
Self-Portrait
Estimate £2,500,000 - 3,500,000 ‡
Sold for £2,882,500
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10
Damien Hirst
Lucy
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 ‡♠
Sold for £290,500
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11
This lot is no longer available.
12
Antony Gormley
Domain XI (Freefall)
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 ♠
Sold for £182,500
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13
Anish Kapoor
Untitled
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡♠
Sold for £812,500
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14
Gilbert & George
Tree Jesus
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡♠
Sold for £86,500
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15
Ed Ruscha
Spots
Estimate £180,000 - 250,000
Sold for £230,500
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16
Anselm Kiefer
Alexandria
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡♠
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17
This lot is no longer available.
18
Robert Morris
Untitled (Brown Felt)
Estimate £180,000 - 250,000
Sold for £158,500
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19
Robert Mangold
Column Structure XXII A
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000
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20
Ed Ruscha
Reef
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000
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21
Ai Weiwei
Marble Chair
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000
Sold for £92,500
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22
Zhang Huan
Family Tree
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ‡
Sold for £206,500
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23
Adriana Varejão
A Grande Curva
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £422,500
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24
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ‡♠
Sold for £122,500
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25
Jacob Kassay
Untitled
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ‡
Sold for £164,500
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26
Mark Flood
Mineral
Estimate £30,000 - 50,000 ‡
Sold for £86,500
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27
Ashley Bickerton
Stratified Landscape #3
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ‡
Sold for £43,750
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28
Alex Hubbard
Rockaway One
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ‡
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29
KAWS
Projector
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000
Sold for £98,500
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Contemporary Evening Sale

London Auction 2 July 2014 7pm

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Provenance

Exhibited

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

KAWS

29

KAWS

Projector

Contemporary Evening Sale

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