Kidrobot makes art toys out of Warhol art
Kidrobot's Andy Warhol line at Toy Fair
Andy Warhol was a main attraction last month at Kidrobot's big Toy Fair exhibition hall booth, as the creator/dealer of limited edition art toys, signature apparel and lifestyle accessories showed its growing collection of Warhol-related merchandise.
Key to Kidrobot's Warhol line, of course, is a variety of figures using the company's signature Dunny template—a vinyl designer art toy based on a rabbit figure with distinctive tubular ears that was created by Paul Budnitz and Tristan Eaton and has been produced by Kidrobot since 2004.
Named from a combination of street slang and an early "Devil Bunny" prototype, Kidrobot's Dunny has been decorated over the years by artists including Scott Tolleson (his Imperial Lotus Dragon Dunny was nominated for the Toy Industry Association's Toy of the Year award last year) and Tara McPherson, and is sold in three-, five-, eight- and 20-inch sizes.
Three-inch Warhol Dunnys are now available in two blind box series and emblazoned with artwork depicting the late Warhol as well as some of his most celebrated paintings, including the famed Campbell's Soup Can and Brillow Box--also Marilyn Monroe and Mao prints and even the legendary 1967 The Velvet Underground & Nico album's banana sticker.
Eight-inch Dunnys were also shown, including a Warhol Dunny figure and a Brillo-illustrated Dunny, both priced at $250 and in 500-count limited and numbered editions.
At the opposite end of the pricepoint scale--$14.99--was a limited edition "collectible art" Andy Warhol Campbell’s Soup Can Mystery Mini Series, with the Warhol-styled soup cans each containing a mystery vinyl (including banana and camera) or plush Warhol piece (soup cans), this time in "blind can" Campbell's Tomato Soup package.
Other Warhol Kidrobot items on display included plush charaxcers and objecgts, inlcudeing Campbell can, Brillo box and Velvet Underground banana, in varied sizes and colors.
"Andy Warhol and his artwork are so iconic," said Kidrobot sales manager Danelle Robles. "They make for fine art-based subject appeal for our art-based company."