ART-029 KAWS — "Exposed" First Edition Artist Book, 1999, Limited Edition of 2,000, ARO.space / Colette Paris

A rare and highly collectible first edition of Exposed — the debut artist book by KAWS (Brian Donnelly, American, born 1974), published in a limited edition of only 2,000 copies by ARO.space (Seattle) and Colette (Paris) in 1999.

Exposed documents KAWS's celebrated early ad disruption and street intervention work from 1996–1999 — the guerrilla campaign in which he illegally altered bus shelter and phone booth advertisements across New York City, inserting his signature skull-and-crossbones imagery and XX-eyed characters into mainstream commercial spaces. This work is the foundation of his entire career and the origin of the iconography that now sells at auction for millions. The book features 31 full-page color illustrations and was printed by La Publigraphie, Paris.

KAWS is one of the most significant and commercially powerful artists of the 21st century. His auction record was set in 2019 when THE KAWS ALBUM sold for $14.8 million. His work is held in the collections of the High Museum of Art, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the Rosenblum Collection in Paris. This 1999 book — his very first publication — represents KAWS at the raw, unfiltered beginning, before the Companion figures, before the collaborations with Dior and Uniqlo, before the museum retrospectives. It is an artifact of street art history.

Details

• Artist: KAWS (Brian Donnelly, American, born 1974)
• Title: Exposed
• Format: Softcover / paperback with French folded flaps
• Publisher: ARO.space (Seattle) / Colette (Paris), 1999
• Edition: Limited edition of 2,000 copies
• Content: 31 full-page color illustrations; ad disruption/intervention works 1996–1999
• Dimensions: 8.75" × 6.2" × 0.25"
• Condition: Good overall. Light wear to covers.