This week, KAWS and Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet dropped a timepiece bearing all of the hallmarks of both the vaunted New York-based street art star and the storied luxury purveyor. The 43 mm Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “COMPANION” features the artist’s signature motifs on both sides of the watch. It can be yours for a cool $226,504.
KAWS, aka Brian Donnelly, is a passionate art collector. Selections from his vast drawing collection are on view now in “The Way I See It,” at New York’s Drawing Center. Maybe this wrist “Companion,” a decked out bit of drip entrapping the artist’s ubiquitous cartoon character, will inspire another sort of collection focused on the rising trend of fine art timepieces. The new KAWS watch, for example, depicts his iconic skeleton avatar “trapped” within the piece’s face, like it’s some kind of luxury prison. A metaphor perhaps?
KAWS and Audemars Piguet have been at work on this project for two years. News of its existence broke prematurely in September, however, when fans spotted KAWS sporting a custom Royal Oak via Instagram. “I was bummed that the watch got out to the public, because I wanted to keep the snow fresh,” he told GQ.
The “Companion” accounts for every last detail. The titular character’s visage and hands desperately press against the face—offering poignant commentary about feeling trapped by time. Companion’s brushed titanium pops against the rest of the watch’s alternating sandblasted and polished finishes. Audemars Piguet even designed a special time-telling system to accommodate the art. Two hands circle around Companion and glow blue in the dark, like the five-minute gradations engraved into the bezel.
The tourbillon powering the watch’s new Calibre 2979 movement also shows through Companion’s torso, a subtle ode to KAWS’s “Dissected” series, which depicts Companion with exposed innards. The eight screws securing the face feature the signature x’s that KAWS puts over all of his characters’ eyes.
“I think that really pulls it together and it’s not something they’ve ever done before,” he told Complex. “I would like to retrofit some of my other watches with those screws.”
Some artists see projects like these as pure business, but KAWS swears collaborations truly enrich his practice. “It’s something I’ve done since the mid ’90s,” he also told Complex. “It’s a way of me getting something out of my head with other talented people.” Plus, working on this scale placed exciting constraints on an artist best known for his huge public artworks.
Speaking of which, KAWS and Audemars Piguet are marking the occasion by installing the 36-foot tall “KAWS:HOLIDAY” inflatable atop their Switzerland headquarters. After recent outings in China and Indonesia, the sculpture is set to preside over the Vallée de Joux through December 20.
Let’s see if the Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon “Companion” lasts that long. There’s only 250 editions up for grabs.
