With Resting Place, KAWS pushes the Companion into one of its most unsettling and conceptually layered territories. Released in 2013 in brown, grey, and black colorways, the work presents a seated figure whose body is partially opened, revealing an intricate interior anatomy—organs, musculature, and skeletal structures rendered with clinical precision.
Introduction
The figure sits on the ground, legs extended, arms placed behind for support—echoing the familiar posture seen in other Companion works. Yet here, the apparent calm of the pose is violently disrupted by the exposed interior. The head is split open, revealing the brain; the torso is dissected, displaying lungs, intestines, and layered anatomical systems.
The duality is immediate and striking. One half of the figure retains the smooth, cartoon-derived exterior, while the other half reveals a hyper-detailed internal structure. This juxtaposition creates a tension between surface and depth, between the constructed identity of the Companion and the biological reality beneath.
The brown and grey versions maintain a relatively restrained palette, allowing the anatomical detailing to emerge subtly from the composition. The tones feel almost didactic, reminiscent of medical models or anatomical studies.
The black version, by contrast, introduces vivid coloration within the exposed interior—bright pinks, greens, and yellows—heightening the contrast between the exterior shell and the internal complexity. This version is the most visually striking, transforming the figure into a near-diagrammatic object where the interior becomes the focal point.
Resting Place belongs to a lineage of anatomical exploration in art, where the body is opened to reveal its inner workings. Yet unlike classical anatomical studies, KAWS does not pursue scientific accuracy for its own sake. Instead, he overlays this language onto a figure rooted in mass culture and simplified design. The result is a hybrid object: part cartoon, part medical model, part sculpture. Produced in collaboration with Medicom Toy, the work maintains the format of a collectible edition while introducing a level of conceptual complexity rarely seen in this category.
At its core, Resting Place is about exposure. The Companion—typically defined by its closed, opaque surface—is here opened, dissected, made transparent in the most literal sense. But the work is not violent in a dramatic way. The figure remains seated, almost passive. There is no struggle, no resistance. The title suggests stillness, even acceptance. This is not an act—it is a state. The juxtaposition between the familiar exterior and the revealed interior invites a broader reading: identity as surface versus structure, persona versus reality. What appears simple is, in fact, deeply layered.
Resting Place stands as one of the most conceptually ambitious works within the Companion series. It moves beyond gesture and posture into the territory of internal structure, expanding the vocabulary of the figure without abandoning its core identity. In a practice often defined by repetition and variation, this work introduces a rupture—an opening, both literal and conceptual. It does not change the Companion. It reveals it.
Monumental Realization: Aluminum Editions
Beyond the editioned vinyl works, Resting Place exists as a series of monumental sculptures executed in painted aluminum, produced in all three colorways (brown, grey, and black) in an edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs. At this scale, KAWS’ Companion fully transitions into the realm of contemporary sculpture, asserting both physical and conceptual presence. The use of aluminum is critical. Unlike the intimacy of smaller editions, the material introduces industrial permanence and structural authority, while maintaining the smooth, controlled surface that defines KAWS’ aesthetic. This tension—between cold, engineered material and emotionally charged subject matter—amplifies the work’s central duality: an exterior that remains pristine and iconic, and an interior that is fully exposed.
Companion (Resting Place), 2013
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 30 September 2018
Estimated: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
HKD 6,720,000 / USD 858,410
(#1061) KAWS | Companion (Resting Place) (sothebys.com)
KAWS
Companion (Resting Place), 2013
Painted aluminum
60 1/2 (H) x 63 x 80 inches (153.6 x 160 x 203 cm)
This work is from an edition of 2/3 + 2 APs
The defining gesture of Resting Place—the anatomical dissection of the Companion—takes on a radically different meaning at monumental scale. The figure, seated in a posture of apparent calm, reveals its internal systems: brain, musculature, organs, rendered with striking precision. This is not a violent rupture, but a controlled unveiling. As KAWS himself noted in relation to his skull-and-bones motif, its power lies in its universality—instantly legible across cultures. Here, that universality is extended inward. The Companion, originally defined by its opaque, simplified surface, becomes transparent—not psychologically, but physically. There is a deliberate irony at play. As audiences sought deeper understanding of the character, KAWS responds not with narrative explanation, but with literal exposure. The interior replaces interpretation.
COMPANION (RESTING PLACE), 2013
Phillips Hong-Kong: 25 November 2018
Estimated: HKD 4,500,000 – 5,500,000
HKD 6,100,000 / USD 779,420
KAWS – 20th Century & Contemporary … Lot 14 November 2018 | Phillips
KAWS
COMPANION (RESTING PLACE), 2013
Painted aluminum
60 x 62 7/8 x 79 7/8 inches (152.4 x 160 x 203 cm)
This work is number 2 from an edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs
Resting Place emerges from a practice deeply rooted in the appropriation and transformation of popular imagery. From early interventions on billboards to the development of the Companion in the late 1990s, KAWS has consistently operated by taking familiar forms and subtly destabilizing them. Here, that strategy reaches a new level. The Companion—already a hybrid of cartoon language and sculptural form—is further complicated by the introduction of anatomical realism. The result is a layered object: part pop icon, part medical model, part existential figure. This duality reflects a broader condition within contemporary culture—where identity oscillates between surface and depth, visibility and anonymity, individuality and mass reproduction.
At monumental scale, Resting Place moves beyond variation into revelation. It is no longer simply a Companion in a different pose—it is the Companion deconstructed, both formally and conceptually. The work engages with themes of mortality, authorship, and identity, yet refuses to resolve them. The exposed body does not explain the figure; it complicates it. The smooth exterior remains intact on one side, while the other reveals an intricate, almost overwhelming interior. This coexistence, between clarity and complexity, between icon and organism, is where the work operates most powerfully. In this sense, Resting Place stands as one of the most intellectually rigorous works within KAWS’ oeuvre. It does not abandon the language of the Companion.
RESTING PLACE (Brown, Grey, Black), 2013
RESTING PLACE (Brown/Grey/Black)
The complete set of three works
Medium: Painted cast vinyl
Year: 2013
Dimensions: 22x23x30 cm (8 3/4 x 9 x 12 inches)
Edition: 500, unnumbered
Co-produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Stamped signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘© KAWS..13 Medicom Toy 2013 China’
Auction Results
Heritage Auctions: 11 November 2020
USD 10,625
KAWS (b. 1974)
Resting Place Companion (set of 3), 2013
Painted cast vinyl
Each stamped to the underside of the feet
Produced by Medicom Toy and OriginalFake, Tokyo
RESTING PLACE (Black), 2012
Resting Place Companion (Black)
Medium: Painted cast vinyl
Year: 2013
Dimensions: 22x23x30 cm (8 3/4 x 9 x 12 inches)
Edition: 500, unnumbered
Co-produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Stamped signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘© KAWS..13 Medicom Toy 2013 China’
Auction Results
LA Modern: 17 March 2026
Estimated: USD 1,000 – 1,500
USD 1,024
KAWS (Brian Donnelly, b.1974)
Resting Place (Black), 2013
Painted cast vinyl
Stamped signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘© KAWS..13 Medicom Toy 2013 China’
This work is from the edition of 500
Co-produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Sold with original packaging
RESTING PLACE (Brown), 2012
Resting Place Companion (Brown)
Medium: Painted cast vinyl
Year: 2013
Dimensions: 22x23x30 cm (8 3/4 x 9 x 12 inches)
Edition: 500, unnumbered
Co-produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Stamped signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘© KAWS..13 Medicom Toy 2013 China’
Auction Results
LA Modern: 17 March 2026
Estimated: USD 1,000 – 1,500
USD 1,024
KAWS (Brian Donnelly) b.1974
Resting Place (Brown), 2012
Painted cast vinyl
Stamped signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘© KAWS..12 Medicom Toy 2012 China’
This work is from the edition of 500
Co-produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Sold with original packaging
RESTING PLACE (Grey), 2012
Resting Place Companion (Grey)
Medium: Painted cast vinyl
Year: 2013
Dimensions: 22x23x30 cm (8 3/4 x 9 x 12 inches)
Edition: 500, unnumbered
Co-produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Stamped signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘© KAWS..13 Medicom Toy 2013 China’
Auction Results
LA Modern: 17 March 2026
Estimated: USD 1,000 – 1,500
USD 1,064
KAWS (Brian Donnelly, b.1974)
Resting Place (Grey), 2013
Painted cast vinyl
Stamped signature, date and manufacturer’s mark to underside
‘© KAWS..13 Medicom Toy 2013 China’
This work is from the edition of 500
Co-produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Sold with original packaging
RESTING PLACE (MONUMENTAL)
Companion (Resting Place) (Black)
Medium: Painted Aluminum
Year: 2013
Dimensions: 60 1/2 x 63 x 80 inches (153.6 x 160 x 203 cm)
Edition: 3
Artist’s Proofs: 2 AP
Companion (Resting Place) (Grey)
Medium: Painted Aluminum
Year: 2013
Dimensions: 60 1/2 x 63 x 80 inches (153.6 x 160 x 203 cm)
Edition: 3
Artist’s Proofs: 2 AP
Strikingly iconic and monumental in scale, COMPANION (RESTING PLACE) slouches anthropomorphically in a moment of pensive repose – a rare and particularly evocative rendition of KAWS’s ubiquitous COMPANION character. One of only three life-size sculptures plus two artist proofs, the present work was created during the final season of KAWS’s hugely successful brand OriginalFake, which ceased production in 2013 after a seven-year run as the artist shifted his focus towards new ventures. With its body bisected, revealing a colorful cartoon rendering of its anatomy, COMPANION (RESTING PLACE) appears lost in thought, staring blankly into space – evoking empathy, humor, as well as a meditative reflection on fragility and pathos of the human condition. With other editions of the work featured in leading institutional venues around the world, including in KAWS’s 2016-2017 solo travelling exhibition WHERE THE END STARTS, COMPANION (RESTING PLACE) is a prime example from KAWS’s unique practice and embodies the very best of his pervasive oeuvre.
One of the most prominent heirs of Pop Art, Brooklyn-based artist and designer KAWS (Brian Donnelly) studied illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York. After graduating, he worked briefly as a freelance illustrator before beginning to use the name KAWS as a young graffiti artist in Jersey City. In the 1990s, after moving to New York City, he began to practice “subvertising” to parody and spoof corporate and political advertisements on bus shelters, phone booths and billboards. Gradually, the artist expanded his imagery beyond graffiti, inventing his own host of characters including the three most emblematic: COMPANION, inspired by Mickey Mouse; CHUM, a derivative of the Michelin Man; and ACCOMPLICE, a bunny with long ears. These figureheads became the design bases for limited-edition figurines, vinyl toys, streetwear and eventually even high-end fashion collaborations – infiltrating the realm of mass consumerism and reinventing a truly distinctive visual lexicon that permeates the worlds of contemporary art and popular culture.
COMPANION was one of the first characters created by KAWS. Characterized by the artist’s trademark skull-and-crossbones head with ‘X-eyes’, a signature motif that first appeared in 1996 in a Mickey Mouse-inspired graffiti tag on a Marlboro billboard, COMPANION was also the first of the artist’s characters to be realized in three-dimensional form when KAWS collaborated with Japanese brand Bounty Hunter to produce limited edition vinyl figurines in 1999. Since then, iterations of the character have spearheaded KAWS’s global appeal as an international art world sensation. Whether in toy form or in life-size sculptural form, clad in armor or dissected to expose its internal organs, KAWS’s adorable COMPANION inspires a growing dedicated following from all corners of the world.
“COMPANION deals with life the way everyone does and is more real in dealing with contemporary human circumstances. He reflects attitudes we all have.”
“By the time I made my first sculpture, I wanted it to look just like the vinyl toys I had already been making. I wanted to see where that puts people’s perspectives.”
Auction Results
COMPANION (RESTING PLACE), 2013
Phillips Hong-Kong: 25 November 2018
Estimated: HKD 4,500,000 – 5,500,000
HKD 6,100,000 / USD 779,420
KAWS – 20th Century & Contemporary … Lot 14 November 2018 | Phillips
KAWS
COMPANION (RESTING PLACE), 2013
Painted aluminum
60 x 62 7/8 x 79 7/8 inches (152.4 x 160 x 203 cm)
This work is number 2 from an edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs
Companion (Resting Place), 2013
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 30 September 2018
Estimated: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
HKD 6,720,000 / USD 858,410
(#1061) KAWS | Companion (Resting Place) (sothebys.com)
KAWS
Companion (Resting Place), 2013
Painted aluminum
60 1/2 (H) x 63 x 80 inches (153.6 x 160 x 203 cm)
This work is from an edition of 2/3 + 2 APs