AT THIS TIME 

Medium: Afromosia wood
Year: 2013
Dimensions: 98 1/2 x 45 7/8 x 36 1/2 inches (250x116x93 cm)
Edition: 3
Artist’s Proofs: 2

AT THIS TIME

Medium: wood (black)
Year: 2013
Dimensions: 104 x 44 x 39 3/8 inches (264.2 x 11.8 x 100 cm)
Edition: 3
Artist’s Proofs: 2 AP

 

Towering over the viewer at eight feet tall, KAWS’s monumental wooden sculpture AT THIS TIME belongs to the artist’s signature series of COMPANION sculptures. KAWS’s COMPANIONS rank amongst the most emblematic figures within the American artist’s pervasive visual lexicon. In recent years, Brooklyn-based Brian Donnelly – known more widely by his moniker KAWS – has not only earned his position as one of the most acclaimed sculptors of our generation but has also become firmly established as a universally recognized household name. It is principally through his large-scale public sculptures that KAWS successfully traverses the realms of high art and mass culture, with his trademark COMPANION character at the very forefront of this campaign. Global icons of our time, the COMPANION figures are simultaneously endearing and sinister, playful and psychologically charged.

The figure in AT THIS TIME stands with his head tilted backwards and his hands pressed firmly into his eyes, as if in a state of mock despair. Two large X’s – the hallmark of KAWS’s practice – are carved into his hands. Simultaneously celebrating and mourning a globalized age of capitalism, mass consumption and accelerated diffusion of information, the present sculpture encompasses the unique duality of joy and anguish that characterizes our contemporary moment. While his X-eyes are simultaneously closed yet all-seeing in defiance of a world pervaded with brands, logos, and homogenized consumerism, the figure’s cartoon presence harnesses our childhood memories to remind us of the power of hope and faith in humanity. With works such as AT THIS TIME, KAWS compellingly infiltrates the realm of mass consumerism, reinventing a truly distinctive lexicon that permeates the world of contemporary art and popular culture.

Executed in a rich, natural color with exposed wood grain, AT THIS TIME illustrates KAWS’ enduring fascination and experimentation with materiality. In 2005, KAWS began collaborating with the Japanese furniture company Karimoku to create his first small wooden COMPANION, a partnership which would invigorate the artist’s notions about the material possibilities of wood.

“We use a lot of technology with the sculptures we make. You know the large, wooden sculptures? Even though they’re wood, they go from small maquettes that are ten to fifteen inches to being digitized and built out on a CNC machine, which is sort of like 3-D printing.”

A long-time admirer of H. C. Westermann’s intense approach to wood carving derived from carpentry, KAWS furthermore sought to follow the late American artist’s footsteps by developing new processes that would incorporate the traditional medium. In AT THIS TIME, this is exemplified by the natural striations of the wood grain that produce a mesmerizing, swirling pattern along the polished surface of the sculpture. Drawing upon the centuries-old technique of marquetry, each strip of wood is meticulously fabricated to follow the contour lines of the COMPANION’s body, creating a marked contrast between the traditional wooden medium and character’s distinctly contemporary appearance. In AT THIS TIME, the sculpted COMPANION’s posture conveys myriad, contradicting emotions, spanning disbelief, rest, isolation and playfulness. Captured in a state of isolation, COMPANION appears sad and alone – in a complete paradox to his name. Yet when seen from a child’s eyes, the character’s pose transforms into a playful expression, redolent of the childhood game of hide-and-seek. From play to retreat, invitation to isolation, the sculpted protagonist’s pose conjures a poignant vulnerability that summons empathy from its viewers. As such, AT THIS TIME is acutely relatable and universal, embodying the very essence of what KAWS has aimed to achieve throughout his oeuvre.

Bronze Version

 

AT THIS TIME

Medium: Bronze and paint
Year: 2016
Dimensions: 11 1/2 x 5 3/8 x 4 3/8 inches (29 x 12.7 x 9 cm)
Edition: 25
Artist’s Proofs: 5 AP

Stamped with the artist’s name, dated and numbered on the underside

AT THIS TIME presents KAWS’ signature COMPANION figure standing alone with his head tilted backwards and his eyes sunk in his hands. The COMPANION’s posture conveys myriad, contradicting emotions- spanning disbelief, rest, isolation and playfulness. Captured in a state of isolation, COMPANION appears sad and alone – in a complete paradox to its name. Yet when seen through a child’s eyes, the character’s pose transforms into a playful expression, redolent of the childhood game of hide-and-seek. From play to retreat, invitation to isolation, the COMPANION’s pose conjures a poignant vulnerability that summons empathy from its viewers.

At once whimsical and psychologically charged, the domestic sized sculpture invites viewers into a visual universe that is infused with KAWS’ instantly recognisable cartoon imagery. Enamoured with the world of cartoons to the point of creating his own graphic figures, KAWS designed his first COMPANION character in 1999, which initially took the form of a small-scale figurine. Executed in bronze and painted in the artist’s classic grey colourway, the present lot exemplifies KAWS’ rise to the canon of contemporary art, encapsulating the artist’s visual language that oscillates between popular culture and fine art.

 

 

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Auction Results

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Bronze

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AT THIS TIME, 2016

Phillips Hong-Kong: 21 June 2022
Estimated: HKD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
HKD 1,260,000 / USD 160,505

KAWS – 20th Century & Contemporary Art… Lot 148 June 2022 | Phillips

AT THIS TIME, 2016

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 28 April 2022
Estimated: HKD 800,000 – 1,500,000
HKD 1,008,000 / USD 128,465

KAWS | AT THIS TIME 此時 | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s

KAWS (b. 1974)
AT THIS TIME, 2016
Painted bronze
Stamped with the artist’s name, dated 16 and numbered 20/25 on the base
This work is number 20 from an edition of 25, plus 5 artist’s proofs

AT THIS TIME, 2016

Phillips Hong-Kong: 9 July 2020
Estimated: HKD 800,000 – 1,200,000
HKD 1,062,500 / USD 137,095

KAWS – 20th Century & Contemporary Art… Lot 171 July 2020 | Phillips

AT THIS TIME, 2016

Phillips Hong-Kong: 25 November 2019
Estimated: HKD 800,000 – 1,200,000
HKD 1,187,500 / USD 151,740

KAWS – 20th Century & Contemporary… Lot 149 November 2019 | Phillips

AT THIS TIME, 2016

Phillips New-York: 14 November 2018
Estimated: USD 60,000 – 80,000
USD 150,000

KAWS – 20th Century & Contemporary… Lot 314 November 2018 | Phillips

Wood

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AT THIS TIME, 2013

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 5 October 2023
Estimated: HKD 5,500,000 – 7,500,000
HKD 8,128,000 / USD 1,038,890

KAWS | AT THIS TIME 此時 | Contemporary Evening Auction | 2023 | Sotheby’s

KAWS (b. 1974)
AT THIS TIME, 2013
Wood (Black)
104 x 44 x 39 3/8 inches (264.2 x 11.8 x 100 cm)
This work is artist’s proof number 2, from an edition of 3, plus 2 artist’s proofs

AT THIS TIME, 2013

Sotheby’s London: 11 February 2020
Estimated: GBP 700,000 – 900,000
GBP 867,000 / USD 1,120,800

(#41) KAWS | AT THIS TIME

KAWS
AT THIS TIME, 2013
Afromosia wood
This work is number 2 from an edition of 3, plus 2 artist’s proofs

AT THIS TIME, 2013

Phillips London: 2 October 2019
Estimated: GBP 800,000 – 1,200,000
GBP 1,455,000 / USD 1,793,975

KAWS – 20th Century & Contemporary A… Lot 22 October 2019 | Phillips