The ‘Astro Boy’ in Greyscale as designed by KAWS in collaboration with Original Fake and created by Medicom Toy. This collectable art figurine is made of vinyl and is part of the extremely limited edition of only 500 created in 2013. ‘Astro Boy’ is an iconic cartoon character beloved by many for his heroism and space adventures, KAWS added his signature motif to the character's original persona to give him a bashful appearance and X’s on his white gloved hands. The piece comes in the original boxed packaging from the manufacturer and is stamped on the bottom of foot. The ‘Astro Boy’ in greyscale comes with the Arton seal of approval for authenticity, quality, and exquisite condition. Arton Contemporary is a gallery located on Madison Avenue, specializing in the Contemporary Masters such as Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and among many others. Arton Contemporary brings a fresh perspective with advising services and has been a trusted source for rare blue-chip art acquisitions for the past 16 years. We put our clients first with focus on transparency, dedication and unmatched premium services.

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KAWS, born in 1974, is a New-York based artist who first gained international attention by designing limited edition toys and clothing. He practiced his now iconic style as a young graffiti artist who chose his moniker, KAWS, and later said of his name, "when your whole art is based on the lettering you choose, you kinda figure out what ones work together. I just liked the shapes of the K, A, W, S". KAWS grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey. He studied at the School of Visual Arts, New York, graduating with a BFA in 1996. Upon graduating, he began working as an animator for Disney, contributing to films and TV shows including 101 Dalmatians, Daria, and Doug. His passion for graffiti art led him to the re-working of advertisements, ‘subvertising’ a counter-culture to the mainstream. Commercial advertisers, interested in the street culture and visual communication, liked his bold style and KAWS was asked to rework their advertisements on bus shelters and billboards around the city. From his start to present day, KAWS and commercialism have become inextricably intertwined. In 1999, KAWS designed his first toy for the Japanese company Bounty Hunter, a vinyl figure of rounded Mickey Mouse shape with x-ed out eyes, a motif which has now become a signature due to its popularity. KAWS has since been invited to collaborate with many other streetwear labels and designers, such as Nike, Uniqlo, Dior and Commes Des Garcons. In early 2019, his painting THE KAWS ALBUM (2005) sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong auction for a record-breaking $14.8 million. The piece is a take on The Simpsons The Yellow Album, which itself is an impression of the iconic cover sleeve for the 1967 Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, originally co-designed by artist Peter Blake (b. 1932). In THE KAWS ALBUM, each figure has been replaced with a character from his ‘Kimpsons’ series. KAWS is now recognized globally for his large-scale public art installations, which see his subversive cartoon characters inflated to gigantic proportions. Most notable among these installations was Holiday (2019) which floated in the Hong Kong harbor during Art Basel Hong Kong. KAWS is now an internationally recognized and multi-faceted artist with work that can be found in the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, the Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the Rosenblum Collection, Paris.

To learn more about this artist and see other available artworks, please visit our website: www.artoncontemporary.com