Critical Review
Companionship In the Age Of Loneliness is a signed screen print produced by the renowned American artist and designer, KAWS. Made in 2019, the print depicts KAWS’ much-loved cartoon character, Companion, sombrely standing in the centre of the composition and holding a limp body with crossed out eyes in his arms. The print is rendered in black and white in a sketch-like style, making it much simpler than many of KAWS’ other prints, which are characterised by bold and vibrant colours and thick, black gestural lines.
Companionship In the Age Of Loneliness is part of the Companion collection, a body of works that all depict KAWS’ cartoon character. While Companion’s depiction differs slightly from print to print, he is always characterised by his distinct Mickey Mouse like figure, skull and crossbone head and crossed out eyes. Crossed out eyes are a repeated visual motif that run throughout KAWS’ artworks and are not just limited to KAWS’ depiction of Companion.
Throughout his artistic career, KAWS has developed an impressive cast of figurative characters. Alongside Companion, Accomplice, Chum and Bendy often feature in KAWS’ artworks. The characters were created while KAWS was experimenting with graffiti in New York in the 1990s and reflect the artist’s love for street art and animation.
