KAWS Share
From August to October 2021, KAWS SHARE was the giant guardian of New York's iconic Rockefeller Center. Standing proudly on Center Plaza, he welcomed all visitors to this unique complex of 19 buildings built in 1929 by businessman John D. Rockefeller.
The installation coincided with the Kaws exhibition "What Party by KAWS" at the Brooklyn Museum, which ran until 5 September 2021.
The almost 5.5-metre-high bronze figurine featured KAWS' iconic character "COMPANION", holding a miniature pink "BFF" in his left hand - "COMPANION" and "BFF", a furry Elmo impersonation that the artist first presented in 2016, being two favourite and recurring motifs of the American artist.
"I was thinking about what this area (Rockefeller Center's Center Plaza, ed.) meant to me," said KAWS. "The verticality of all the architecture and visiting Rockefeller Center as a child, looking up and feeling overwhelmed, I wanted a sculpture that could relate to those feelings."
In SHARE, the 'COMPANION' figure is meant to represent a sense of sadness, fear and isolation following long periods of confinement due to the pandemic, while the 'BFF' doll he carries suggests the comfort many of us need.
"KAWS has created a universal language for anyone interacting with his instantly recognisable characters. KAWS' work disrupts expectations while feeling both familiar and stylized, and having SHARE on display at Rockefeller Center perfectly encapsulates our own commitment to contrasting different cultures, styles and energy," said EB Kelly, managing director of Tishman Speyer overseeing Rockefeller Center.
The SHARE vinyl figure, published by Medicom Toy, stands 32cm high and is available in Black, Brown and Grey.
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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, pencilling advertising posters for major brands on the streets of New York. Since the 2000s, he has produced around fifty 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). These figurines, which are particularly popular with collectors and contemporary art lovers, have the advantage of being a reasonably priced way of starting a collection and entering the artist's world. They are generally published in limited editions of 500 copies (according to the artist), in collaboration with a manufacturer who often also manages the marketing. Most of these art objects are made of vinyl and are highly resistant to ageing, although they should not be exposed to direct sunlight for long periods. Each version of figurine, or art toy, has its own specially designed packaging, comprising a polystyrene receptacle with protective film, and a cardboard box with embossing. This is one of the key elements in the authentication of these sculptures.
