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“I use the X the same way that Mercedes uses the grille on their cars… You see them in the rearview mirror and just have a glimpse of it, and you know the style of the car going behind you.”
— KAWSImmediately grabbing the attention of the viewer with its commanding scale and refined graphic style, NEW YORK is a prime example of American artist KAWS’s unique visual language. Fresh to auction, having remained in private hands since the year it was painted, the present work is a rare, original rendering of one of the artist’s most iconic images. As the chosen composition to feature as the cover image of KAWS’s collaboration with New York Magazine for the publication’s 50th anniversary year-long public arts programme—with other invited artists including Alex Katz, Emily Mae Smith, George Condo, Kerry James Marshall, Yoko Ono, and Tschabalala Self—the image most recently featured on a KAWS x COMME de GARÇONS 2021 perfume bottle design.
Another example on the present work featured on MIRROR by KAWS x COMME des GARCONS Parfums
Photo: Brad Bridgers
Another example of the present work featured on the cover of ’50 New York Artists: A Public Art Exhibition’, New York Magazine, 2018
KAWS x House of Voltaire
KAWS NEW YORK (Blanket), 2019
cashmere blanket, edition of 85-
Another example on the present work featured on MIRROR by KAWS x COMME des GARCONS Parfums
Photo: Brad Bridgers -
Another example of the present work featured on the cover of ’50 New York Artists: A Public Art Exhibition’, New York Magazine, 2018
Animation to Abstraction
In a reduced colour palette of Kazimir Malevich-esque ruby red contrasting bright white, KAWS paints a pooling puddle of blood in NEW YORK. Reaching out from beneath the scarlet ripples are a pair of gloved hands marked with the artist’s signature X’s, appearing only moments away from being completely submerged.
Left: Kazimir Malevich, Painterly Realism of a Peasant Woman in Two Dimensions, 1951
Collection of the Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg
Right: KAWS, KEEP MOVING, 2012
Sold by Phillips London on 9 March 2018 for £909,000Harkening back to KAWS’s 2012-piece, KEEP MOVING, the disembodied hands recall numerous popular culture references that range from ‘Thing’ from the famed The Adamms Family movies to when Star Wars Jedi Luke Skywalker loses his hand during an epic duel. At the same time, whilst the gloves are instantly recognisable as belonging to KAWS’s internationally beloved COMPANION figure, their cartoonish depiction further nods to rubber-hose animation characters whom KAWS presumably takes inspiration from, having previously worked as a freelance animator for Jumbo Pictures.
The fictional character ‘Thing’ from The Addams Family, 1991
Luke Skywalker loses his hand, still from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, 1997
Following in the footsteps of artists such as Andy Warhol, who famously injected commercial products into spaces of fine art, KAWS taps into the nostalgic warmth of pop-art graphics to imbue the present work with a playful intricacy. Starkly juxtaposing this, however, is the more morbid edge the composition presents which, when considered in relationship to the work’s title, can perhaps be understood as a darkly humoured homage to the city the artist calls home.
Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup Cans (detail), 1962
Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York
© 2021 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkAs such, a more apt comparison can arguably be made to the visually striking works of Roy Lichtenstein, who employed comic-strip iconography to explore highly emotive motifs including that of morality and destruction. However, unlike Lichtenstein’s inclusion of text-filled speech bubbles that help convey to the viewer his subject’s inner concerns, KAWS’s compositions are coolly ambiguous, characterised by unexpected twists of the recognisable that help to define his simultaneously endearing and sinister visual world.
In speaking of the tension that permeates his cartoonish aesthetic, the artist explains ‘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...I want to understand the world I’m in and, for me, making and seeing art is a way to do that.’ i
Roy Lichtenstein, Drowning Girl, 1963
Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York
© Estate of Roy LichtensteinNEW YORK
Nodding to his background as a graffiti-artist provocateur tagging billboards across New York, NEW YORK perfectly showcases KAWS’s striking yet simple signature approach of bold colour and refined line. With this in a mind, an interesting comparison can be made to the work of anonymous British artist Banksy, whom too, is celebrated for his direct visual language that is whimsical yet with a satirical tone.
But whereas Banksy uses his imagery to convey social or political critique, KAWS’s work instead elicits complex emotional responses as his COMPANION portrayals address the ubiquitous feelings of isolation, anxiety, and the desire for human connection. Moreover, whilst Banksy has become renowned for his spray paint and stencil technique, NEW YORK reveals KAWS’s masterful control over his medium as the sharply painted shapes are executed with swift, calligraphic line that leaves no trace of the artist’s free-handed approach.
As an exceptional work from one of the most defining and forward-thinking artists of our present age, NEW YORK demonstrates the sophisticated humour that has propelled KAWS to becoming a household name. As curator Michael Auping elucidates:
"KAWS is not just referring to pop culture, he is making it."
— Michael AupingHow KAWS Became the Face of Contemporary Art, 2017
Video courtesy of Blueprint
Collector’s Digest
Regarded as one of the most important creators of his generation for his ingenuity of reconceptualising some of the world’s most cherished icons, work by KAWS can be found in prominent public collections around the world. This includes the Brooklyn Museum, New York; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas; CAC Malaga; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; and the Rosenblum Collection, Paris.
In addition to extensive solo exhibitons around the globe, KAWS’s practice has most recently been honoured with a solo exhibition, KAWS: SPOKE TOO SOON, at Skarstedt in New York (5 November – 11 December 2021). KAWS also recently exhibited a monumental retrospective in his hometown, KAWS: WHAT PARTY, which was hosted by the Brooklyn Museum in New York between 26 February – 5 September 2021.
Recent solo exhibitions also include the Mori Arts Centre in Tokyo (16 July – 11 October 2021), and a retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia (2019-2020). An upcoming exhibition will soon open at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta: KAWS PRINTS, which will run from 3 December 2021 – 27 March 2022.
KAWS, SPOKE TOO SOON, 2021
Featured as part of Skarstedt, New York, KAWS: SPOKE TOO SOON, 5 November – 11 December 2021, the work showcases themes that extend upon those explored in NEW YORKi KAWS, as quoted in KAWS. WHERE THE END STARTS, exh. cat., Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 2016, p.5
Provenance
Skarstedt Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2018Artist 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.
Property from a Prominent New York Collection
Ο◆46
NEW YORK
signed and dated 'KAWS..18' on the reverse
acrylic on canvas
243.8 x 243.8 cm. (96 x 96 in.)
Painted in 2018.
Estimate
HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
€453,000-680,000
$513,000-769,000
Sold for HK$5,040,000
Charlotte Raybaud
Head of Evening Sale, 20th Century & Contemporary Art
+852 2318 2026
CharlotteRaybaud@phillips.com
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in Association with Poly Auction
Hong Kong Auction 30 November 2021
1
Cinga Samson
Ivory V
Estimate HK$250,000 - 350,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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2
Salman Toor
East Village Iqbal Bano
Estimate HK$1,800,000 - 2,800,000
Sold for HK$4,536,000
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3
Nina Chanel Abney
Untitled (IXI Black)
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$3,024,000
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4
Jamian Juliano-Villani
Clear Cough from Your Schedule
Estimate HK$200,000 - 400,000
Sold for HK$781,200
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5
Mr.
Yume—Breath of the Earth
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$4,032,000
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6
Julie Curtiss
Escargot
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$1,449,000
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7
Javier Calleja
30 works: Untitled
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$12,108,000
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8
Javier Calleja
You Me
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 4,000,000
Sold for HK$7,026,000
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9
Aya Takano
In the Lab (the Birth of Jelly)
Estimate HK$200,000 - 300,000
Sold for HK$441,000
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10
Hernan Bas
Minimalism (cracking the code)
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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11
Joel Mesler
Untitled (Night Out)
Estimate HK$500,000 - 700,000
Sold for HK$1,512,000
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12
Shara Hughes
Magic Island
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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13
Scott Kahn
Cadman Plaza
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$7,510,000
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14
Matthew Wong
Nature’s Church
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$9,204,000
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15
Matthew Wong
Far Away Eyes
Estimate HK$8,000,000 - 12,000,000
Sold for HK$21,183,000
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16
Gerhard Richter
Kerzenschein (Candle-light)
Estimate HK$55,000,000 - 75,000,000
Sold for HK$101,970,000
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17
This lot is no longer available.
18
Yayoi Kusama
INFINITY-NETS (OPRT)
Estimate HK$15,000,000 - 25,000,000
Sold for HK$22,635,000
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19
Yayoi Kusama
Repetition
Estimate HK$15,000,000 - 20,000,000
Sold for HK$19,005,000
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20
Nicolas Party
Still Life
Estimate HK$6,200,000 - 9,400,000
Sold for HK$17,190,000
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21
David Hockney
Bridlington Violets
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$12,350,000
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22
Léonard-Tsuguharu Foujita
Self-Portrait with a Cat
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$5,292,000
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23
This lot is no longer available.
24
Sanyu
Paysage Aux Hirondelles
Estimate HK$26,000,000 - 46,000,000
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25
Zao Wou-Ki
Sans titre ("Notre Dame")
Estimate HK$7,500,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for HK$10,051,000
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26
Zao Wou-Ki
Brume d’automne
Estimate HK$4,500,000 - 7,500,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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27
Auguste Rodin
Le Baiser, 1ère réduction dite aussi "réduction n°1"
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$11,745,000
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28
Zao Wou-Ki
20.3.64.
Estimate HK$20,000,000 - 30,000,000
Sold for HK$22,030,000
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29
This lot is no longer available.
30
Alexander Calder
Two Red Petals in the Air
Estimate HK$16,000,000 - 20,000,000
Sold for HK$20,820,000
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31
Claude Monet
Pavots dans un vase de Chine
Estimate HK$9,500,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$13,560,000
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32
Georges Mathieu
Saxifrage
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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33
This lot is no longer available.
34
Huang Yuxing
Floating Bubbles
Estimate HK$1,800,000 - 2,800,000
Sold for HK$2,772,000
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35
Zhou Chunya
Smell the Flowers
Estimate HK$5,000,000 - 7,000,000
Sold for HK$6,905,000
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36
This lot is no longer available.
37
Liu Ye
Flagship No. 2
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$5,922,000
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38
Wang Xingwei
Untitled (Heart-Shaped Dance)
Estimate HK$2,800,000 - 4,800,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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39
Liu Ye
Untitled
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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40
Liu Wei
You Like Smoking?
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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41
Izumi Kato
Untitled
Estimate HK$4,500,000 - 7,500,000
Sold for HK$11,745,000
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42
Yoshitomo Nara
Pandora's Box
Estimate HK$7,500,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for HK$13,560,000
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43
George Condo
The Dreamer
Estimate HK$4,600,000 - 6,200,000
Sold for HK$11,140,000
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44
George Condo
Entangled Figures
Estimate HK$6,200,000 - 9,200,000
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45
This lot is no longer available.
46
KAWS
NEW YORK
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$5,040,000
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47
KAWS
FINAL DAYS
Estimate HK$6,200,000 - 8,200,000
Sold for HK$8,115,000
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48
Raymond Pettibon
Untitled (Force makes nature...)
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$3,906,000
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49
Robert Nava
Angel Shark
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for HK$4,410,000
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50
Susumu Kamijo
Marching To The Sun
Estimate HK$450,000 - 650,000
Sold for HK$2,142,000
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51
Jadé Fadojutimi
Fishing For Steps
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 2,200,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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52
Mickalene Thomas
Looking Up from the She Works Hard For the Money Pin-Up series
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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53
Billie Zangewa
Cirque d'hiver
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$567,000
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54
Godwin Champs Namuyimba
The Connector
Estimate HK$200,000 - 400,000
Sold for HK$1,323,000
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55
Tunji Adeniyi-Jones
Blue Ancestor
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$1,071,000
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56
Tomoo Gokita
Final Confrontation
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 2,200,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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57
Ewa Juszkiewicz
Appropriation
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$1,890,000
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58
Lucas Arruda
Untitled from the series Deserto-Modelo
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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