KAWS - 20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale in Association with Poly Auction Hong Kong Sunday, November 28, 2021 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • “When I was younger, I wasn’t going to galleries, I wasn’t going to museums … There was a lot of ‘this is fine art’ or ‘this is not fine art’; ‘this is commercial’, ‘this is high art’. In my mind I thought, art’s purpose is to communicate and reach people. Whichever outlet that’s being done through is the right one.” — KAWS

     

    The artist with his work

     

    • Provenance

      Superman Toys, Hong Kong
      Acquired from the above by the present owner

    • Literature

      Ian Luna and Lauren A. Gould, KAWS: 1993-2010, New York, 2010, p. 26 (another example illustrated)

    • 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

258

KAWS (ORIGINALFAKE) COMPANION

signed and dated 'KAWS..06' on the underside of the figure's left foot; numbered '10/10' on the underside of the figure's right foot; numbered '10/10' on the original wooden case
painted bronze
38.5 x 17 x 10.2 cm. (15 x 6 1/2 x 4 in.)
Executed in 2006, this work is number 10 from an edition of 10 plus 2 artist's proofs and is accompanied by its original wooden case.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
HK$800,000 - 1,200,000 
€102,000-153,000
$103,000-154,000

Sold for HK$2,520,000

Contact Specialist

Danielle So
Specialist, Head of Day Sale
+852 2318 2027
danielleso@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Day Sale in Association with Poly Auction

Hong Kong Auction 29 November 2021