Curated by Eugenie Tsai
THERE IS A TRADITIONAL BELIEF in Japanese households that deceased parents, siblings, and children linger close at hand, remaining nearby as members of the family and a comfort to the living. Newer, more eclectic sects hold that even departed pets stay with their owners as reassuring companions. The artist Brian Donnelly, known by his teenage graffiti handle KAWS, created his signature character and virtual alter ego, Companion, in the late 1990s at the invitation of Tokyo toymaker Bounty Hunter. There being the obvious antecedent of Takashi Murakami transforming the characters that populate his art into more modest collectibles in three dimensions, Donnelly’s vinyl figurine dressed in the buttoned shorts, white gloves, and oversize shoes of Mickey Mouse distinguishes itself by being dead.