Released in 2004, Companion (Five Years Later) represents one of the earliest mature statements in KAWS’ sculptural practice. As its title suggests, the work revisits and refines the Companion figure roughly five years after its initial introduction, consolidating its visual language into a form that would become definitive. This edition marks a critical moment: the transition from experimentation to codification, where the Companion ceases to be a variation and becomes an icon.
Introduction
The figure stands upright, frontal, and composed, embodying a sense of stillness that borders on detachment. The anatomy is now fully stabilized: rounded head with protruding ear-like forms, skeletal-inspired facial structure with the signature “X” eyes, simplified torso, and gloved hands. Compared to earlier iterations, the proportions are more resolved, the lines cleaner, and the silhouette more balanced. The figure feels less like a manipulated cartoon and more like a constructed entity—self-contained and immediately legible.
The three colorways—black, brown, and grey—play a fundamental role in shaping perception. The black version, with its yellow “X” eyes, emphasizes graphic contrast and visual impact. The brown recalls early animation references, subtly invoking the lineage of Mickey Mouse. The grey reduces the figure to its essential form, pushing it toward abstraction and sculptural neutrality.
Produced in painted cast vinyl, the work adheres to the industrial processes that define KAWS’ approach to editions. The surface is smooth and uniform, reinforcing the object’s manufactured precision while allowing the form itself to carry the visual weight. The edition of 500 per colorway reflects a balance between accessibility and control: large enough to circulate widely, yet limited enough to maintain collectability, particularly given its early date.
Created in 2004, this edition emerges at a formative stage in KAWS’ career, when his practice is transitioning from street interventions and subverted advertising into the realm of collectible objects and gallery-oriented production. The title Five Years Later is both literal and conceptual. It signals a moment of reflection and consolidation—a return to the Companion not as a mutable figure, but as a fixed identity. From this point forward, the character would serve as the central axis of KAWS’ visual universe. What is striking in Five Years Later is its restraint. The figure does not gesture, emote, or interact. It simply stands—present yet inaccessible. The crossed-out eyes function as a refusal: a denial of emotional transparency, a barrier between object and viewer. This ambiguity becomes foundational to KAWS’ work. The Companion is neither expressive nor neutral—it exists in a suspended state, open to projection yet resistant to interpretation. In this sense, the sculpture operates less as a character and more as a structure—a framework onto which meaning can be imposed, but never confirmed.
As one of the earliest fully realized Companion editions, Five Years Later holds a significant position within KAWS’ market. Its historical importance, combined with relatively limited production compared to later releases, has ensured sustained demand among collectors. More broadly, the work represents a moment of definition. It establishes the formal and conceptual parameters that would underpin KAWS’ subsequent practice—from small-scale editions to monumental public sculptures. If later works expand, distort, or emotionalize the Companion, Five Years Later is where the language is written.
5-YR LATER COMPANIONS, 2004
COMPANIONS (Five Years Later) (Grey/Black/Brown)
The complete set of three works
Medium: Painted cast vinyl
Year: 2004
Dimensions: 37x17x11 cm (14-3/4 x 6-1/2 x 4-1/4 inches)
Edition: 500, unnumbered
Produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo
Impressed signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘©KAWS..04 Medicom Toy 2004 China’
Auction Results
Bonhams Los Angeles online: 25 February 2026
Estimated: USD 1,500 – 2,400
USD 1,280
KAWS (born 1974)
Companion (Five Years Later) (Grey, Black, Brown), 2004
Three cast vinyl figurines in colors
From the edition of 500
With artist’s copyright stamp and stamped dated on the underside
Published by Medicom Toy, Tokyo
With original boxes
5 YEAR LATER COMPANION (Grey), 2004
COMPANION (Five Years Later) (Grey)
Medium: Painted cast vinyl
Year: 2004
Dimensions: 37x17x11 cm (14-3/4 x 6-1/2 x 4-1/4 inches)
Edition: 500, unnumbered
Produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo
Impressed signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘©KAWS..04 Medicom Toy 2004 China’
Auction Results
LA Modern: 18 March 2025
Estimated: USD 500 – 700
USD 2,159
KAWS (Brian Donnelly, b.1974)
Five Years Later Companion (Gray), 2004
Painted cast vinyl
Impressed signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘©KAWS..04 Medicom Toy 2004 China’
This work is from the edition of 500
Produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo
Sold with original packaging
5 YEAR LATER COMPANION (Brown), 2004
COMPANION (Five Years Later) (Brown)
Medium: Painted cast vinyl
Year: 2004
Dimensions: 37x17x11 cm (14-3/4 x 6-1/2 x 4-1/4 inches)
Edition: 500, unnumbered
Produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo
Impressed signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘©KAWS..04 Medicom Toy 2004 China’
Auction Results
Heritage Auctions: 7 February 2024
USD 1,250
KAWS (b. 1974)
Companion, Five Years Later (Brown), 2004
Painted cast vinyl
Edition of 500
Stamped on underside of feet
Published by Medicom Toy, Tokyo
5 YEAR LATER COMPANION (Black), 2004
COMPANION (Five Years Later) (Black)
Medium: Painted cast vinyl
Year: 2004
Dimensions: 37x17x11 cm (14-3/4 x 6-1/2 x 4-1/4 inches)
Edition: 500, unnumbered
Produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo
Impressed signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘©KAWS..04 Medicom Toy 2004 China’
Auction Results
Bonhams London: 21 September 2022
Estimated: GBP 1,000 – 1,500
GBP 1,148 / USD 1,300
KAWS (American, born 1974)
Five Years Later Companion (Black), 2004
Painted vinyl multiple
From the edition of 500
With the fabricator stamp on the underside
Produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo
Housed in the original packaging