Supermodel #2

Medium: Screenprint in colors on Rives BFK wove paper
Year: 1999
Sheet: 28 1/2 x 21 inches (72.3 x 53.5 cm)
Edition: 50
Publisher: Kawsone, New-York
Release Price: $500

Supermodel #2 features a head and shoulders shot of a model (believed to be Christy Turlington in a Calvin Klein ad) rendered primarily in red and white (or colors, depending on the specific edition). KAWS obscures the original image with his distinctive graphics, specifically the skull and crossbones motif for the face and the “XX” over the eyes. The model’s mouth appears wide open, as if screaming, which, combined with the graphic interventions, makes her expression difficult to discern.

Supermodel #2 explores themes of consumerism, commercial culture, and globalization. By appropriating and defacing an advertisement for a high-fashion brand, KAWS blurs the lines between high art and commercial design, a practice often compared to Pop artists like Andy Warhol. The use of ubiquitous graphic motifs, such as the “XX” eyes, is intended to appeal to a mass audience with a universally understood visual language.

Released in 1999, Supermodel #2 was part of KAWS’s early body of work when he was primarily known as a street artist in New York City. He would unlock advertisement cases in phone booths and bus shelters, “subvert” or alter the images with his graphics, and then replace them. The “Supermodel” series translates this street-art practice into a formal print medium.

Supermodel #2 is one of KAWS’s earliest and most sought-after prints, considered a key work that bridges his street art origins with the fine art world. It helped establish his iconic visual vocabulary and the “XX” signature that would become synonymous with his global brand. The success and high auction value of this and similar early prints cemented KAWS’s transition from a niche street artist to a globally recognized figure in contemporary art, leading to numerous institutional exhibitions and high-profile collaborations with global brands.

Auction Results

Sotheby’s New-York: 16 September 2021
Estimated: USD 10,000 – 15,000
USD 37,800

KAWS (b.1974)
Supermodel #2, 1999
Screenprint in colors on Rives BFK wove paper
Signed in pencil, dated and numbered 34/50

Chiswick Auctions: 27 March 2018
Estimated: 10,000 – 12,000
GBP 13,000 / USD 18,410

KAWS (AMERICAN b.1974)
‘SUPERMODEL #2’,1999
Screenprint, signed, dated and numbered
From an edition of 50 in pencil