KAWS Companion Flayed Open Edition Toy

Brian Donnelly, the ex-Disney illustrator better known as KAWS, created his first vinyl toy in 1999: an eight-inch “Companion” whose round belly, noodly limbs, and white gloves immediately reminded viewers of the cartoons made famous by his former workplace. The limited edition toy, produced in collaboration with the Japanese brand Bounty Hunter, reflected KAWS’s desire to make his work more accessible to the public. In the years since, KAWS has rendered most of his signature characters in three dimensions, including Chum, Bendy, and Blitz, as well as his renditions of iconic cartoons like Tweety, Snoopy, and Pinocchio. When first released, these sculptures often sell out in just seconds. When the Museum of Modern Art promoted KAWS’s toys in its design store, collector demand was so high that the museum’s website crashed multiple times.


KAWS is a multi-faceted artist straddling the worlds of art and design in his prolific body of work that ranges from paintings, murals, and large-scale sculptures to product design and toy-making. His iconic “XX” signature had its roots in the beginning of his career as a street artist in the 1990s when he began altering found advertisements by incorporating his own masterful paintings. Evoking the sensibilities of Pop artists like Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg, KAWS possesses sophisticated humor and thoughtful interplay with consumer products and collaborations with global brands. He often draws inspiration and appropriates from popular culture animations to form a unique artistic vocabulary and an influential cast of hybrid cartoon and human characters.