ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

Is bronze the new vinyl? Highly unlikely, but one thing that the folks who like to spend their free time arguing Kaws vs. Kozik on the KR forums can agree upon is that busts are the new platform. First came Kozik’s dictators and Ludwig Van. Now, The Art Collectors reports that Kaws is, ahem, busting out his own mug, in bronze, to the tune of $25K.

In anticipation of KAWS’ upcoming New York solo show, Gering & Lopez have announced the production of this bronze sculpture, being released in an edition of 33 unique painted colors. The self portrait was first seen in the 2006 release of the Skull Kun figures, which included miniature KAWS heads inside the toy’s belly.  It will be interesting to see how fast these move with their $25K price tag – comparable to the cost of recent large canvases that surfaced at the artist’s Saturated show in Miami last month.

For a guy who keeps to himself and, at least appearance-wise, seems quite modest, an 11 x 6 1/4 x 9 1/2 bronze self-portrait seems like a bizarre undertaking. That said, from Sponge Bob to Stormtroopers, Kaws doesn’t seem to have a problem moving his warez. Stay tuned…