Daniel Arsham – Pokémon Collaboration, April 2020
Daniel Arsham – Pokémon Collaboration, April 2020
A piece by Daniel Arsham inhabits a domain all of it’s own. Often a graceful concoction of equal parts of architectural and sculptural influence, Arsham creates art that transcends time. They’re antique in appearance, but are infused with keen chiseled details alongside quartz crystals that add another dimension to the work. The NYC-based artist has previously worked with Kim Jones at Dior & with Adidas. Though in some exciting news for Pokémon enthusiasts, the Japanese franchise has recently partnered with Arsham, who reimagines Pokémon’s influence in the next millennium. This is the first time a visual artist has been granted access to their archives.
The collection was released exclusively in mainland China through the @archiveeditions account, a platform dedicated to moving rare Daniel Arsham artworks in China. The Arsham x Pokémon collection is officially titled ‘𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦’ and currently features two eroded Pikachu sculptures, both of which are sold out. (Only 500 of each made). The figures, named ‘𝘞𝘏𝘐𝘛𝘌 𝘗𝘐𝘒𝘈𝘊𝘏𝘜 ’ & ‘𝘉𝘓𝘜𝘌 𝘊𝘙𝘠𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘓𝘐𝘡𝘌𝘋 𝘗𝘐𝘒𝘈𝘊𝘏𝘜 ’ stand at 33cm in height & are comprised of white cast resin & aluminum oxide.
In addition to the yellow face of the franchise, Arsham has also teased previews on his Instagram of sculptures of other Pokémon such as Charmander, Blastoise & Jigglypuff. Not even a month has gone by since the initial drop of 1000 editions in total, and websites such as StockX are already witnessing resales of the collectables at around USD $4.3k. (+113% markup from USD $2k retail).
All images & artworks are property of Daniel Arsham and Archive Editions.
Daniel Arsham – Pokémon Collaboration, April 2020 
