KAWS - 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Afternoon Session New York Wednesday, May 15, 2019 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Gering & López Gallery, New York
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Exhibited

    New York, Gering & López Gallery, KAWS, November 6 - December 23, 2008

  • Literature

    WHERE THE END STARTS, exh. cat., Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Forth Worth, 2016, no. 12, pp. 45, 74, 194 (installation view from Gering & López Gallery illustrated, p. 44)

  • 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

487

PERMANENT THIRTY-THREE

painted bronze
11 x 6 1/4 x 9 1/2 in. (27.9 x 15.9 x 24.1 cm.)
Executed in 2008, this work is from a series of 33 unique color variants.

Estimate
$20,000 - 30,000 

Sold for $36,250

Contact Specialist
Rebekah Bowling
Head of Day Sale, Afternoon Session
New York
+ 1 212 940 1250
rbowling@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Afternoon Session

New York Auction 15 May | On View at 450 Park Avenue