KAWS Launches Augmented Reality Sculptures Around the World

19 Mar 2020

KAWS has partnered with Acute Art to create a collection of augmented reality Companions. Could this be your perfect isolation partner? Read on for more on the ground-breaking project...

“When I realized the quality that could be achieved and experienced in AR, I was immediately drawn to its potential. I have been creating objects and exhibiting works in public spaces throughout my career, and this allows me to expand on that in a whole new arena. The possibilities of locations and scale are endless, and I’m excited to start a new dialogue in this medium.”

- KAWS

aka. Brian Donnelly, is entering into the world of augmented reality with an art project that will bring virtual versions of his infamous 'Companion' figures to eleven major cities around the globe.The artist has joined forces with Acute Art, a virtual and augmented reality production house, on the ambitious project, which encompasses a public exhibition of twelve monumental AR sculptures—as well as the release of two AR sculpture editions, available for purchase on Acute Art’s app.Invisible to the naked eye, the AR figures come to life in the user's camera to reveal beautifully crafted sculptures that interact seamlessly and playfully with the world around them.

The public exhibition 'COMPANION (EXPANDED)' has been running from March 12 ending on March 26, in cities including New York, Tokyo and London. The Companion sculptures will be visible through Acute Art’s app, which is free to download.The project also has a commercial component which could set a precedent for the marketing of AR art. The street artist has created various ways of purchasing a piece. The first is an edition, titled “COMPANION (EXPANDED),” of 25 life-size AR sculptures that will be available to buy together for $10,000 on Acute Art's website. Collectors will be able to place the sculptures wherever they want using the app, and can choose whether to keep them private or make them public to other app users.The second collectable element, called “AT THIS TIME (EXPANDED),” presents an alternative model for commercialising virtual artwork. It is an open edition of 1.5-foot-tall AR sculptures that are available in three colours and can be bought on the app for a period of seven or thirty days at a time. These are priced at $6.99 for one sculpture for seven days or $29.99 for all three sculptures for 30 days.

Jacod de Geer, chief executive of Acute Art, stated KAWS is the perfect artist to launch the Acute Art app with because of his very loyal global fan base adding that“his editions will demonstrate that works of art in virtual space can be just as precious and sought-after as those in our physical surroundings.”

The ambitious project does provide a model for selling and trading AR artworks, and the exhibition offers an eco-friendly model for public art that reduces the need for materials and transportation.The experience takes art out of the gallery, onto the streets, and into users' hands. In the process, it offers anyone anywhere the opportunity to enjoy and interact with art. Could this be the new way to collect, trade and live with art? It certainly opens up some new possibilities for artists and institutions.The public sculptures will be 'on view' via Acute Art in select locations until the 26th of March. Small Lie (Set of Three) by KAWS, 2017.

KAWS is globally recognised as one of the most influential artists working today and has always been one to play with the scale of his art and the ways of showing and interacting with it. Throughout his career, the New York artist has created everything from collectibles to murals and paintings to large-scale public sculptures. You can

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to view our selection of real-life available works by the highly-collectable artist. Don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions or to request our KAWS catalogue.