KAWS What Party
Kaws What Party is a vinyl sculpture of Chum, one of the artist's essential 'toys'. It comes in black, white, yellow, pink and orange.
The character is loosely based on the Michelin Man, the mascot of the Michelin tyre company. KAWS's version has the same shape as 'Bibendum', with the exception of the face, which has the X-shaped eyes and crossed bones of Companion, the artist's most iconic subject.
What Party was made in 2020, measures 28.7x14.5x9.4 cm and is sold in its original packaging. They are often offered in galleries for less than €1,000 each.
Chum made his first appearance over 20 years ago and initially only had two poses: one with his hands on his hips and his torso bent, the other in full running action.
The new version of Chum was created for KAWS WHAT PARTY, an exhibition held in 2021 (from 26 February to 5 September) at the Brooklyn Museum.
The new, more sober and reflective Chum is an expression of the spirit of our times, depicting a world turned upside down by a global health crisis and socio-economic instability.
A book has also been published to coincide with the exhibition. It includes all the works exhibited, and comes in five cover versions (black, white, yellow, pink and orange).
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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 handles 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. The What Party figurines were released in September 2020. They are now among the artist's most emblematic figures.
