AT THIS TIME presents KAWS’ signature COMPANION figure standing alone with his head tilted backwards and his eyes sunk in his hands. The COMPANION’s posture conveys myriad, contradicting emotions- spanning disbelief, rest, isolation and playfulness. Captured in a state of isolation, COMPANION appears sad and alone – in a complete paradox to its name. Yet when seen through a child’s eyes, the character’s pose transforms into a playful expression, redolent of the childhood game of hide-and-seek. From play to retreat, invitation to isolation, the COMPANION’s pose conjures a poignant vulnerability that summons empathy from its viewers.

At once whimsical and psychologically charged, the domestic sized sculpture invites viewers into a visual universe that is infused with KAWS’ instantly recognisable cartoon imagery. Enamoured with the world of cartoons to the point of creating his own graphic figures, KAWS designed his first COMPANION character in 1999, which initially took the form of a small-scale figurine. Executed in bronze and painted in the artist’s classic grey colourway, the present lot exemplifies KAWS’ rise to the canon of contemporary art, encapsulating the artist’s visual language that oscillates between popular culture and fine art.