The Great Below by Kaws

Auctioned by Phillips in New York for $529,200

The highest-selling lot at Phillips’ New Now auction, during which the auction house inaugurated its new saleroom at New York’s 432 Park Avenue, Kaws’ 2011 acrylic on canvas work The Great Below dramatically re-envisions another pop cultural icon. The facial details of Kawsbob – the artist’s appropriation of the animated cartoon character, SpongeBob SquarePants – appear inflated in Kaws’ distinctive graphic style. Another distinguishing feature of this work is its circular canvas, also known as a tondo, a format that dates back to the Renaissance, and one that Kaws continues to engage with today.