KAWS Along The Way
KAWS Along the way (Black) is a vinyl sculpture of the artist's iconic character KAWS Companion. This version features a Companion comforting another Companion in a one-armed embrace. He gives the impression of supporting his friend who is suffering or in great distress. The artist's aim with this sculpture is to convey the values of helping others.
The work is a smaller version of the 5-metre-high wooden sculpture ALONG THE WAY (2013), on temporary display at the Brooklyn Museum in 2015.
The Along the way figurines were made in 2019, and measure 26.7x22.9x10.2 cm. Available in three colour versions, Brown, Black and Grey, they are sold in rigid cardboard packaging with embossing. Inside the packaging is a moulded polystyrene receptacle. Each colour of sculpture has its own distinctive packaging. Along The Way is part of an edition of 500 and features a stamp on the underside of the feet to authenticate its provenance. As usual we strongly recommend not to buy the sculptures at auctions or with online galleries, due to the huge number of fakes on the market.
New York street artist Kaws emerged from the graffiti scene in the 1990s. A young artist influenced by pop art galleries, he began his career as a graffiti artist, penciling advertising posters for major brands on the streets of New York. Since the 2000s, he has produced some 50 small sculptures, featuring his most significant large-scale works of art (often shown in temporary exhibitions), and of course his most popular characters (Companion, Chum, BFF, Accomplice etc.). Particularly popular with collectors and contemporary art enthusiasts, these figurines have the advantage of being a very reasonably priced way to start a collection and enter the artist's world. They are generally published in limited editions of 500 copies (according to the artist), and they are edited in collaboration with a manufacturer who often also handles marketing, sales and distribution worldwide. Mostly made of vinyl material, these works of art resist ageing very well, but you should avoid exposing them to direct sunlight for long periods. It might cause a slight discoloration of the sculpture. Each version of the figurine, or art toy, has its own specially designed packaging, comprising a polystyrene receptacle with protective film, and a cardboard box with embossing. You have to keep the original packaging carefully as it is one of the most important authentication features of these sculptures. The figurines making up Along The Way were released in March 2019. They are now among the artist's most emblematic and sought-after art-toys.
