KAWS @ 30th Street Station

Exhibition Info
Curated by
Harry Philbrick, Edna S. Tuttleman Director of the Museum
In collaboration with Amtrak, PAFA exhibited KAWS’ 16-foot COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH) at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station

Between April 11 and May 14, 2013, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), in collaboration with Amtrak, exhibited KAWS’ 16-foot COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH) sculpture at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. The installation was a preview for KAWS @ PAFA, which opened later that year in October.

First seen in Hong Kong, COMPANION previously traveled to New York, The Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, CT, The High Museum, Atlanta, and The Modern, Fort Worth. KAWS introduced the now famous COMPANION in 1999 as a seven and three-quarter inch limited edition toy featuring KAWS’s signature inflated skull and crossbones, with a skinny-legged Mickey Mouse body. Since then, the COMPANION has grown in scale and now features the iconic figure sitting down and covering its face with white-gloved hands.

For KAWS' BORN TO BEND, click HERE.

COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), 2010, fiberglass, metal structure and paint, 208 1/2 x 169 1/4 x 185 in. (Photo: Tom Crane)
COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), 2010, fiberglass, metal structure and paint, 208 1/2 x 169 1/4 x 185 in. (Photo: Tom Crane)
COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), 2010, fiberglass, metal structure and paint, 208 1/2 x 169 1/4 x 185 in. (Photo: Tom Crane)
COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), 2010, fiberglass, metal structure and paint, 208 1/2 x 169 1/4 x 185 in. (Photo: Tom Crane)
COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), 2010, fiberglass, metal structure and paint, 208 1/2 x 169 1/4 x 185 in. (Photo: Tom Crane)
COMPANION (PASSING THROUGH), 2010, fiberglass, metal structure and paint, 208 1/2 x 169 1/4 x 185 in. (Photo: Tom Crane)