More recently, KAWS has earned acclaim as a contemporary painter, producing large-scale canvases that nod to the surrealistic style of the Chicago Imagists.

WSJ: Up in the Air | Making It

In Tokyo, where his clothing line, OriginalFake, has a flagship store, collectors line up for new KAWS releases, which also sell out in a matter of hours on the Internet.

WSJ: Up in the Air | Making It

Emmanuel Perrotin, Donnelly's gallerist (the latest KAWS exhibition opens at Galerie Perrotin, in Paris, on November 3) likens the artist to Andy Warhol for his prolific collaborations and to Takashi Murakami for his concern with sculpture of all sizes.

WSJ: Up in the Air | Making It