Gauntlet Gallery — Complete KAWS Index
Ups And Downs (Print Set)
Work Summary & Collector Notes
Ups And Downs is a screenprint portfolio by KAWS (Brian Donnelly) presenting a suite of related images conceived as a cohesive set rather than a single sheet. Working in his signature flat-graphic vocabulary, KAWS deploys cropped cartoon body parts, layered hands, and the crossed-out X eyes that define his appropriated characters. The print set reads like a sequence of emotional registers, the title gesturing toward the swings of mood and fortune that recur as quiet undercurrents in his pop imagery. Executed as limited screenprints with the saturated, hard-edged color and precise registration KAWS demands, the portfolio rewards being shown together, each sheet amplifying the others as a single statement.
Collector notes: Edition label was not stated, and total quantity was not documented in the saved record. Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Why It Matters
Print portfolios occupy an important place in KAWS's practice because they let him work serially, exploring a motif across multiple plates the way a painter develops a body of canvases. A multi-sheet set like Ups And Downs is more committing for collectors than a single print and therefore tends to be produced in smaller quantities and held more tightly, which compounds its desirability. The work demonstrates how KAWS translates the language of comics and advertising into editioned fine art, collapsing the distance between mass culture and the print room. For collectors, an intact set is the prize: complete portfolios with matching numbering and original packaging are the configuration the market most rewards, and breaking a set is generally seen as diminishing it. The portfolio format also signals KAWS's seriousness as a printmaker, situating him within a lineage of pop artists who used the multiple as a primary medium rather than a marketing byproduct, and underscoring why his editioned output is collected with the rigor usually reserved for unique works.
Collector Perspective
Ups And Downs appeals to established KAWS collectors who want depth rather than a single trophy image, and to print specialists who value complete, in-sequence portfolios. Displayed as a grid or run, the set makes a strong wall statement and signals a committed collection rather than a casual purchase. Within a KAWS holding it functions as an anchor, complementing single Companion and Chum sheets while standing apart through its serial ambition. Condition and completeness drive value here more than for stand-alone prints: collectors prize matching edition numbers, untrimmed margins, and original portfolio housing. Because sets are harder to assemble and easier to break up, an intact example is the configuration most sought after.
Historical Context
The work sits in KAWS's mature print practice, after his subway and graffiti beginnings and the toy era that built his audience, when editioned screenprints became a central, ongoing strand of his studio output. By this stage KAWS had fully developed the flat-graphic, appropriation-driven idiom that lets him build entire portfolios from cropped cartoon anatomy and crossed-out eyes. A print set rather than a single sheet reflects his interest in serial image-making, a thread that runs parallel to his paintings and sculptures and connects him to the pop-art tradition of the fine-art multiple as a primary medium.
Documented Release Details
- Object type
- Editioned print or object
- Release date
- 2013
- Release-date note
- Catalog-listed release year from the saved secondary record; primary release-page confirmation remains pending.
- Series
- Medium and materials
- Medium and materials were not documented in the saved record.
- Edition details
- Edition label was not stated, and total quantity was not documented in the saved record.
- Signature and marks
- Edition-specific signature, numbering, and stamp details were not stated in the saved release record. Verify signing and numbering against a documented example of this edition.
Documented History and Meaning
History note: This page treats KAWS's broader career as background context, not proof that this specific edition belongs to any single exhibition or event. Release-level facts here come from a saved secondary catalog record.
Meaning / interpretation: Read as documented context rather than stated intent: The work sits in KAWS's mature print practice, after his subway and graffiti beginnings and the toy era that built his audience, when editioned screenprints became a central, ongoing strand of his studio output. This is an interpretive reading of the release context, not a statement of the artist's intent for this specific work. This interpretive note follows the cited artist or publisher context.
Release context: The saved catalog lists 2013. It is grouped under Print in the saved record.
Authentication, Presentation and Provenance
- Original presentation
- Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.
- Authentication note
- Compare the support, dimensions, edition number, and signature against a documented example of this edition. Gauntlet Gallery does not authenticate works purchased from third parties.
- Provenance note
- Edition origin is attributed in the saved record to the release source named in the saved record. That does not establish the ownership history of an individual copy: retain the original invoice, reseller or gallery paperwork, labels, correspondence, and condition photographs.
Sources and Verification
Verification status: Secondary catalog snapshot; artist-level context added
- KAWSONE — official site — KAWS studio · primary artist source · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Official artist site; career context, not an individual-edition record.
- KAWS — Wikipedia · reference encyclopedia · Accessed 2026-07-13 · General artist-level biographical and career reference.
- KAWS (Q3194367) — Wikidata · reference knowledge base · Accessed 2026-07-13 · Structured identifier used for the artist across catalog metadata.
FAQ
Is Ups And Downs a single print or a set?
It is conceived and sold as a print set, a portfolio of related screenprints meant to be kept and shown together rather than a single sheet.
Does it matter if the set is complete?
Yes. For KAWS print portfolios, completeness, matching edition numbers, and original packaging materially affect desirability; an intact set is the configuration the market most rewards.
What technique is used?
It is produced as limited screenprints, the medium KAWS favors for his editions, prized for saturated flat color and precise registration. Specific edition size and dimensions should be confirmed against published documentation.
Related KAWS Works
