Artist: KAWS (Brian Donnelly, American, b. 1974)
Title: Separated
Year: 2021
Medium: Lithograph on paper
Dimensions: 50.8 × 40.6 cm (20 × 16 in.)
Edition: 250 + 50 Artist’s Proofs
Signature: Signed by the artist
Price: on request
Availability: Available for private acquisition through Robin Rile Fine Art
SOLD UNFRAMED: Shown in frame to illustrate the approximate scale and wall-power.
Few contemporary artists have captured the emotional contradictions of modern life quite like KAWS. With his instantly recognizable characters, crossed-out eyes, and distinctive visual language, the Brooklyn-based artist has blurred the boundaries between fine art, popular culture, and contemporary design.
In Separated (2021), KAWS presents his iconic COMPANION character seated alone, head lowered into its oversized gloved hands. The familiar figure, usually associated with playful cartoon imagery, becomes a surprisingly poignant symbol of vulnerability, isolation, and introspection.
Executed as a lithograph on paper, Separated reflects the artist’s ability to communicate complex human emotions through deceptively simple imagery. The muted palette and restrained composition emphasize the character’s withdrawn posture, inviting viewers to consider themes of loneliness, uncertainty, and emotional disconnection.
There is something universally relatable about the image. Despite its cartoon origins, COMPANION seems unmistakably human in its moment of quiet despair. It is this tension between humor and melancholy that has helped establish KAWS as one of the most recognizable figures in contemporary art.
KAWS began his career as a graffiti artist and subsequently developed an international following through paintings, sculptures, prints, and collaborations that challenge traditional distinctions between high art and commercial culture. His work is represented in major private and institutional collections worldwide.
Separated offers collectors an accessible and emotionally resonant example of the artist’s celebrated visual vocabulary. Its intimate scale and understated colors make it particularly appealing for contemporary residential interiors, whether displayed independently or alongside other works of Pop and contemporary art.
