Which signature or marks are documented?

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. 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.

Is original packaging or presentation documented?

Original packaging or presentation was not documented in the release sources reviewed.

How certain are the release details?

The year, edition, dimensions, and medium come from a saved secondary catalog record. Artist-level context is added from general references, but not every release-level field is independently confirmed.

Gauntlet Gallery — Complete KAWS Index

Kaws Companion : Resting Place (Black Version)

KAWS · 2013

Year2013

Listed price$315.00

SeriesCompanion Series

EraCompanion and Fine Art Era

Collector8/10

Visual8/10

Historical7/10

ScarcityModerate

Work Summary & Collector Notes

Companion: Resting Place (Black Version) presents KAWS's signature Companion in a seated, slumped pose, head bowed and gloved hands at rest, rendered here in a sombre all-black colorway. The Companion, KAWS's Mickey-Mouse-derived everyman with crossed-out X eyes, appears in a posture of exhaustion or contemplation that gives the work its title and its unmistakably melancholic charge. The black version strips away color to heighten the mood, reducing the figure to silhouette and emphasizing the slumped, grieving body language. Issued as a collectible figure, it distills the emotional undertow that has made the Companion KAWS's most enduring and resonant invention, balancing cartoon cuteness against a palpable sense of weariness and sorrow.

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

The Companion is the cornerstone of KAWS's entire practice, the character through which he is most recognized worldwide, and Resting Place is among its most emotionally legible incarnations. The slumped, head-in-hands posture crystallizes the melancholy that critics regard as the deepest theme in KAWS's work, the idea that his cheerful pop surfaces conceal vulnerability, fatigue, and loss. Rendering it in black amplifies that reading, turning the figure into something closer to a mourning silhouette. For collectors, Resting Place is significant because it captures the Companion not in a neutral standing pose but in a charged emotional state, making it one of the more expressive and conceptually weighty figures in the line. The black version also participates in the colorway culture that structures KAWS collecting, where the darker, more restrained palettes are often prized for their gravity. As a Companion object it anchors a collection, connecting to the broad family of Companion prints, sculptures, and dissected variants that together form the spine of KAWS's market and the most reliably collected segment of his output.

Collector Perspective

Resting Place (Black Version) appeals to dedicated Companion collectors and to buyers drawn to the melancholic, emotionally resonant side of KAWS rather than his brightest pop pieces. The black colorway makes it a striking, gallery-like object that reads as a sculptural silhouette and integrates easily into a sophisticated interior. Within a collection it pairs naturally with other Companion works, from dissected variants to standing figures and prints, deepening the central thread of any KAWS holding.

Historical Context

Resting Place belongs to the Companion and fine-art era in which KAWS's Mickey-derived figure became his defining motif and a global emblem of his practice. The Companion grew out of his graffiti and vinyl-toy beginnings and matured into a vehicle for the melancholic, mortality-tinged themes that distinguish his mature work. Resting Place's slumped posture extends the emotional vocabulary KAWS developed across dissected, resting, and standing Companions, and its black colorway reflects the variant-driven collecting culture that surrounds the series, situating it firmly within the most documented and sought-after strand of his output.

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: Companion 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: Resting Place belongs to the Companion and fine-art era in which KAWS's Mickey-derived figure became his defining motif and a global emblem of his practice. 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 Companion Series 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

What pose is Companion: Resting Place in?

The Companion is shown seated and slumped, head bowed with hands at rest, a posture of exhaustion or contemplation that gives the work its name and its melancholic mood.

Why is the Companion so important to KAWS?

The Companion is KAWS's signature character and the figure through which he is most widely recognized; it anchors his market and carries the emotional themes central to his practice.

What does the black version add?

The all-black colorway reduces the figure to silhouette and heightens its sombre, mourning-like tone. Specific edition size and release date should be confirmed against published documentation.