
Kenny Scharf (b. 1958, Los Angeles) is a muralist, painter, sculptor, and installation artist best known for his fantastical paintings of anthropomorphic animals and imagined creatures. He attended the School of Visual Arts, New York, where he received his B.F.A. Scharf gained notoriety for his participation in New York City’s downtown art scene of the 1980s, along with his good friend and fellow street artist Keith Haring. His graffiti paintings gained him recognition and fame, with his works regularly featuring large, colorful, pop culture icons and patterns. Growing up in Southern California, Scharf was fascinated by television and modern design, often influenced by imaginative caricatures of middle-class Americans in science fiction settings. He was influenced by Pop Art, as seen in his appropriation of cartoon characters from television shows like the Flintstones and Jetsons.
His work was embraced by museums, such as the Whitney, which selected him for the 1985 Whitney Biennial. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Miami Center for the Fine Arts, and the Queens Museum of Art, among others. His work is in many public collections, including; The Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach; The Brant Foundation; Greenwich, CT; The Broad Foundation, Los Angeles; The Jewish Museum, New York, NY; The Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NJ; The Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; among others. Sharf who is not new to the fashion world, has most recently announced a collaboration with Dior’s Fall 2021 Pre-Fall Collection.
Kenny Scharf
Jungliti, 2008
Oil on Canvas
30 x 24"
Kenny Scharf
Controlopuss, 2018
Oil, Acrylic, and Spray Paint on Linen with Powder
70 x 90"
Kenny Scharf
Big Flores Green, 2021
Silkscreen with Diamond Dust
53 x 42.50"
Kenny Scharf
Judy on the Beach, 1987
Screenprint
30 x 43. Edition of 75.
Kenny Scharf
Big Flores Blue, 2021
Silkscreen with Diamond Dust
53 x 42.50"
Kenny Scharf
Big Flores Yellow, 2021
Silkscreen with Diamond Dust
53 x 42.50"
Kenny Scharf
Felix on a Pedestal, 1998
Silkscreen
43 x 46". Edition of 150
Kenny Scharf
Places Please, 2021
Silkscreen
Edition of 100.
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