KAWS - Passing Through

KAWS
Companion (Passing Through)
January 30 through June 5, 2011
Back by popular demand, Brooklyn-based artist Brian Donnelly, a.k.a KAWS, returns to The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in January with the largest incarnation to date of his endearing Companion character.

The sixteen-feet-tall Companion (Passing Through) is on view in the Museum’s sculpture garden through June 5, 2011.
Although KAWS enjoys great popularity worldwide for his graphic, industrial and product design, including limited toy editions and streetwear fashion, sketches, drawings, paintings, murals, and sculptures, and his work has been exhibited in many countries, his Aldrich exhibition in 2010, which spurred record attendance, was his first in a museum setting.

KAWS introduced the famous Companion in 1999. The seven and three-quarter inch limited edition toy featured the signature KAWS inflated skull and crossbones, with a skinny-legged Mickey Mouse body. KAWS chose Mickey Mouse after a search for the most recognizable and international character in the cartoon world to “take down.” Since then, the Companion has grown in scale. The towering Companion (Passing Through) presents the iconic figure sitting down with both gloved hands covering its face.