“Signaling the direction of his work with gargantuan publicly installed sculptures, KAWS Four Foot Companions are prodigious. Released over a number of years, the set of six began with the brown version. Because they were released individually over time, it has proven to be a very challenging feat to assemble the whole set in a collection. The Four Foot Companion is an essential piece in a KAWS collection because they represent his leap forward into a more ambitious course with his work. The engineering that went into them is impressive. The results are a very solid sculpture that isn’t easy to knock over. Extremely influential, other artists have followed suit with exploring a scale of this size in their sculptural works, but it was KAWS who initially captured everyone’s imagination with this seminal series.” – Ronnie Pirovino

When I was younger …
There was a lot of ‘this is fine art’ or ‘this is not fine art’;
‘this is commercial’, ‘this is high art’.
In my mind I thought, art’s purpose is to communicate and reach people. Whichever outlet that’s being done through is the right one.

By now legendary and universally recognized, KAWS’s Companion figures were first introduced in 1999 as a limited-edition run of 500 eight-inch toys. The small works sold out nearly instantaneously, and the edition’s success gave way to an entire lineage of characters and Companion variations—including the aptly named Four Foot Companion. 

Released in a series of six variations over several years, these large-scale versions of KAWS’s sought-after figures implicitly question the distinction between a toy and a work of sculpture. As collector and curator Ronnie Pirovino has noted, “The Four Foot Companion is an essential piece in a KAWS collection because they represent his leap forward into a more ambitious course with his work. The engineering that went into them is impressive.”

 

 

 

 

1. Four Foot Dissected Companion (Black)

 

2. Four Foot Dissected Companion (Brown)

3. Four Foot Dissected Companion (Grey)

Smaller Unnumbered Editions

 

 

 

 

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Auction Results

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KAWS
Four Foot Dissected Companion (Black), 2009
Vinyl
Incised “©KAWS..09” on the underside of the left foot
Incised “MEDICOM TOY and 2009” on the underside of the right foot
From the edition of 100

Ravenel Taipei: 4 June 2023
Estimated: TWD 1,300,000 – 2,200,000
TWD 1,320,000 / USD 43,053

KAWS (Brian Donnelly) (American, 1974)
Four Foot Dissected Companion (Black), 2009
Fiber reinforced plastics, edition of 100
Copyright © KAWS.. 09 on the bottom of the left foot
Trademark MEDICOM TOY 2009 MADE IN CHINA on the bottom of the right foot
With a security laser tag

Christie’s online: 21 July 2022
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 69,300 

KAWS (B.1974)
FOUR-FOOT DISSECTED COMPANION (BLACK), 2009
Painted cast vinyl multiple, with the original hologram, and elements of the box
Stamped ‘© KAWS..09…MEDICOM TOY 2009 MADE IN CHINA’ on the underside
This work is from the unnumbered edition of 100

Ravenel Taipei: 4 December 2021
Estimated: TWD 1,600,000 – 2,400,000
TWD 1,800,000 / USD 64,935

KAWS (Brian Donnelly) (American, 1974)
Four Foot Dissected Companion (Black), 2009
Fiber reinforced plastics, edition of 100
Copyright © KAWS.. 09 on the bottom of the left foot
Trademark MEDICOM TOY 2009 MADE IN CHINA on the bottom of the right foot
With a security laser tag

Phillips Hong-Kong: 7 June 2021
Estimated: HKD 400,000 – 600,000
HKD 1,416,000 / USD 182,490
WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR FOUR-FOOT DISSECTED COMPANION (BLACK)

Digard Paris: 30 March 2021
Estimated: EUR 60,000 – 80,000
EUR 78,000 / USD 91,580

KAWS (B.1974)
Four foot dissected companion (black), 2009
Painted cast vinyl

Digard Paris: 4 October 2020
Estimated: EUR 80,000 – 120,000
EUR 120,900 / USD 141,700

KAWS (B.1974)
Four foot dissected companion (black), 2009
Painted cast vinyl
Stamped on the underside of the feet

Heritage Auctions: 22 July 2019
USD 137,500

KAWS (American, b. 1974)
4FT Dissected Companion (Black)
Fiber-reinforced plastic
Produced by Medicom Toy and OriginalFake

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 10 October 2021
Estimated: HKD 550,000 – 800,000
HKD 693,000 / USD 89,015

KAWS (b. 1974)
FOUR FOOT DISSECTED COMPANION (BROWN), 2009
Painted cast vinyl
Stamped with the artist’s name and date 2009 on the underside of the left foot
Stamped with the date 2009 and inscription Medicom Toy Made in China on the underside of the right foot
This work is from an unnumbered edition of 100

Christie’s New-York: 22 July 2021
Estimated: USD 85,000 – 125,000
USD 106,250

KAWS (B.1974)
FOUR FOOT DISSECTED COMPANION (BROWN), 2009
Painted cast vinyl multiple
Stamped ‘© KAWS..09’ (on the underside of the left foot)
Stamped ‘MEDICOM TOY 2009 MADE IN CHINA’ (on the underside of the right foot)
This work is from an unnumbered edition of 100 and is accompanied by its original box

Phillips Hong-Kong: 26 November 2018
Estimated: HKD 200,000 – 300,000
HKD 1,500,000 / USD 191,760
WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR FOUR FOOT DISSECTED COMPANION