Scharf, Kenny
Born 1958 in Los Angeles, CA
Primary residence in Los Angeles, CA
EDUCATION
1980 B.F.A., School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
OBJECTIVE
My ambition as a professional artist is to maintain the course that I set nearly 20 years ago by establishing my work in the fields of painting, sculpture, and performance. Every project I undertake is building on my past experiences. My original approach is unchanged; it is a personal challenge to produce the best work possible every time. One very important and guiding principle to my work is to reach out beyond the elitist boundaries of fine art and connect to popular culture through my art. My personal ambition has always been to live the example. I believe the artist has a social responsibility to engage others in a thought process that ultimately brings art into everyday life thereby enhancing the quality of our experience.
A PARTIAL CHRONOLOGY
2011
"Naturafutura" Paul Kasmin Gallery NY NY
Group Exhibitions
"The Artist Museum" MOCA Los Angeles
"Art In The Streets" MOCA Los Angeles
" New York Minute" Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow
"Facemaker" Curated by Kathy Grayson Royal-T , Culver City
"Unfinished Paintings" Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
"Nose Job" Eric Firestone Gallery , East Hampton,NY
"East Village West" Royal T Lounge Los Angeles
"From Here to Eternity" Curated by Kenton Parker, Scion Installation Space , Culver City
Special Projects:
"East Village West" Curated with Ann Magnuson , Royal T Lounge Los Angeles
Miami Marlins Arena Mural
WeHo Walls :MOCA Public Library Mural West Hollywood ,Ca.
Mural Arts Big Picture Project , Philadelphia Pa.
Brooklyn Children's Hospital Mural Brooklyn NY
2010
Group Exhibitions:
"Pause" Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas NV
"Art Shack" Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach CA
"Mutant Pop" Loyal Gallery, Malmo Sweden
Special Projects:
Bowery Wall Mural
2009
Kenny Scharf "Barberadise" Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles CA
Group Exhibitions:
"Wynwood Walls" Outdoor Mural Project produced by Deitch Projects, Art Basel Miami
"Primary Flight" Site-specific Street Level Mural, Art Basel Miami
"Loveable Like Orphan Kitties and Bastard Children" Green Gallery, Milwaukee WI
"Just What Are They Saying" Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans LA
"Nude Show" Paul Kasmin Gallery New York NY
Special Projects:
"Stages Touring Exhibit" Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France
Custom bike designed for Lance Armstrong and ridden in Tour de France
2008
Kenny Scharf: "Superdeluxa" Waddington Gallery, London UK
Kenny Scharf "80's Back" Seomi & Tuus, Seoul, Korea
Group Exhibitions:
"Four Friends" Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York NY
"Totally Rad" Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York NY
"American Standard" Design District, Miami Beach FL
"Juxtapose School" Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach CA
"Zero Carat" Jewelry Friedman Benda Gallery, New York, NY
2007
Kenny Scharf: "NEW!" Paul Kasmin Gallery New York, NY
Group Exhibitions:
"Four Friends" Tony Shafrazi Gallery New York, NY
"Art Parade" King of Parade Jeffrey Deitch New York, NY
"Big Secret Cache" Angstrom Gallery Los Angeles, CA
2006
Kenny Scharf "Astro Cumulo Nibus Uber Express" Raleigh Hotel, Art Basel, Miami Beach FL
Group Exhibitions:
"Surrealism Then and Now" Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York NY
"Juxtapose Anniversary" Copro Nason, Culver City CA
2005
Kenny Scharf: "Superpop" Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY
Kenny Scharf: "Outer Limits" Patrick Painter Gallery, Santa Monica CA
Group Exhibitions:
Enjoy By: Bill Farroux, Venice CA
2004
Kenny Scharf: "Groovenian Drawings" Kantor Gallery, Los Angeles CA
Kenny Scharf: "Schablobz" Kenny Schachter/Rove New York, NY
Kenny Scharf: "California Grown" Pasadena Museum of California Art, Los Angeles CA
Kenny Scharf: "Face Value" Kevin Bruk Gallery, Miami Beach FL
Group Exhibitions:
"East Village USA" New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York NY
"Beginning Here: 101 Ways" Visual Arts Gallery, New York NY
"100 Artists See Satan" Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana CA
Special Events:
Americans for the Arts Awards Installation, Cipriani's, New York NY
2003
Kenny Scharf: "Nightlight" Patrick Painter Gallery, Santa Monica CA
Kenny Scharf: "Paintings 1990-1997" Cotthem Gallery, Brussels Belgium
Group Exhibitions:
"Quest" Vincent Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam The Netherlands
"Splat, Boom, Pow" Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston TX
"Portraits" Heidi Lee Fine Art, New York NY
"Faces and Figures" The Art Museum at Florida International University, Miami FL
"Beauty Stripped Bare / LA Black & White" BGH Gallery, Santa Monica CA
2002
Kenny Scharf: "Muted" Chac Mool Gallery, Los Angeles CA
Group Exhibitions:
"Made in the USA 1970-2000" Ludwig Galerie, Oberhausen, Germany
"Pulcherrimae Strade" Installation, Pordenone, Italy
"Juxtapose Anniversary Show" Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica CA
Special Events:
"The Groovenians" Animated Special aired on Cartoon Network
2001
Kenny Scharf: "Car Nation" UC Fullerton at Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana CA
Kenny Scharf: "Portraits" Tony Schafrazi Gallery, New York NY
Kenny Scharf: "Hollywood Stars" Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles CA
Group Exhibitions:
"Seeing" Interactive Exhibition LACMA LAB, Los Angeles CA
"Animations" P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City NY
Special Projects:
Permanent Installation of Four, 30 totems, "Tikitotemoniki", Pearl Arts District, Portland OR
2000
"Kenny Scharf" Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills CA
Kenny Scharf: "Small Paintings & Bronzes" Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York NY
Kenny Scharf: "Closet #18" permanent exhibit Young at Art Children's Museum, Davie FL
1999
"Heads, Small Paintings and Closet #16" Galerie Hans Mayer, Berlin, Germany
Kenny Scharf: "New Sculpture" PICA-Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland OR
"Heads and Small Paintings" Galerie Hans Mayer, Dusseldorf, Germany
1998
"Kenny Scharf" Galerie Ramis Barquet, Monterrey, Mexico
"Kenny Scharf" McIntosh Gallery, Atlanta GA
"Kenny Scharf" Kantor Gallery, Los Angeles CA
"Kenny Scharf" Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York NY
Special Projects:
Comissioned by MOCA San Diego to paint mural "Ultrazoomazipamapopdeluxa" in entrance lobby
Designs line of Manikins for Pucci International
1997
Kenny Scharf: "Pop Surrealist" Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg FL
Kenny Scharf: "When Worlds Collide", curated by Barry Blinderman, Univercity Galleries, Illinoise State
"Kenny Scharf" Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York NY
Kenny Scharf: "Ultraelektrik" Paintings, Sculpture & Customized Appliances, Sony Building, New York NY
Group Exhibitions:
In Your Face Haring, Basquiat & Scharf Leo Malca Fine Art, New York
Art and Provocation: Images from Rebels Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder ,Co.
1996
Kenny Scharf: New Work , Tony Shafrazi Gallery NY
Kenny Scharf : El Mundo de Kenny Scharf Museo de art Contemporaneo de Monterrey, Mexico
Kenny Scharf: Heads Center for the Fine Arts , Miami
Kenny Scharf: Galerie 56 Budapest Hungary
Group Exhibitions:
New Figuration Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson Az.
Hot Off the Press: New Editions Pace Prints , NY
1995
Kenny Scharf: Early Paintings 1975-78 Yoshi Gallery NY NY
Kenny Scharf: Galerie Cotthem-Hedwig Van Impe , Knokke Belgium
Kenny Scharf: Tony Shafrazi Gallery NY NY
Kenny Scharf: Scharf-O-Rama 1978-1995 Museum of Art ,Ft.Lauderdale Fl.
Group Exhibitions:
Altered and Irrational: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Whitney Museum ,NY
Art,Design and Barbie Liberty Street Gallery, NY
Recent Acquisitions Bass Museum of Art, Miami Fl
Art + Architecture,MIAMI, Center for Contemporary Art , Miami
A New York Time:Selected Drawings from the Eighties Bruce Museum ,Greenwich, CT
1994
Kenny Scharf: Wildlife Tony Shafrazi Gallery NY NY
1993
Kenny Scharf: Works on Paper , Galerie Burkhard R Eikelmann , Dusseldorf
Kenny Scharf: Closet #11, Café Click, Dusseldorf
Kenny Scharf: Closet # 10 World Gallery Miami Fl
Group Exhibitions:
About Nature Cleveland Center for Contemporary Artr, Cleveland, OH
Art and Environment National Arts Club, NYC
Extravagant: The Economy of Elegance Tony Shafrazi Gallery NY, Russisches Kulturzentrum, Berlin
1982-83: Ten Years After Tony Shafrazi Gallery , NY
1992
Kenny Scharf: Edward Totah Gallery
Kenny Scharf: Galeria Rocca 6, Torino Italy
Kenny Scharf: Galeria Seno, Milan
Group Exhibitions:
1492 Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey, Mexico
Variations Gitanes Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris
Objets Trouves Galerie de Jour, Agnes B. Paris
Balade de l'Amour Halle de l'Uniondes arts Decoratifs, Palais de Louvre, Paris
1991
Kenny Scharf : Tony Shafrazi Gallery NY
Kenny Scharf: Studio Trisorio, Naples Italy
Kenny Scharf: AC&T Corporation, Tokyo
Kenny Scharf: Galerie Hans Mayer, Dusseldorf
Kenny Scharf: Akira Ikeda Gallery, Tokyo
Group Exhibitions:
American Art of the '80's Palazzo delle Albere, Trento, Italy
Closet #9 Queens Museum of Art, Flushing NY
Just What is it That Makes Todays Home So Different,So Appealing Hyde Collection,NY
The 1980's: A Selected View from the Permanent Collection, Whitney Museum , NY
1990
Kenny Scharf: Galerie Beaubourg, Paris
Group Exhibitions:
The Last Decade: American Artists of the '80's Tony Shafrazi Gallery, NY
1989
Kenny Scharf: Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
Group Exhibitions:
Don't Bungle the Jungle Tony Shafrazi Gallery, NY
The Studio American Collection Witkacy Theater , Zakopane Poland
1988
Kenny Scharf: Akira Ikeda Gallery, Tokyo
Group Exhibitions:
Figure a Subject: Revival of Figuration Since 1975 Whitney Museum , NY
The Weisman Collection California State University, Fullerton Ca. (Traveling Show)
1987
Kenny Scharf: Tony Shafrazi Gallery , NY
Group Exhibitions:
Comic Iconoclasm Institute of Contemporary Art, London
1986
Kenny Scharf : Akira Ikeda Gallery, Tokyo
Group Exhibitions:
An American Renaissance: Painting and Sculpture from 1940 to Present Museum of Art, Ft.Lauderdale
Homage to Nicolas A. Moufarrage Gabrielle Bryers Gallery, NY
Picture From the Inner Mind The PalladiumNY,Solway Gallery Cincinatti,Cohn Gallery Rio de Janeiro
1985
Kenny Scharf : Tony Shafrazi Gallery, NY
Kenny Scharf: Galerie Bruno Bischofberger , Zurich
Group Exhibitions:
Biennial 1984 Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art, NY
Drawings Leo Castelli Graphics, NY
Eight Artists/Eight Years/SVA School of Visual Arts, NY
East Village Artists Holly Solomon Gallery NY
Investigations Institute of Contemporary Art ,University of Pennsylvania,Philadelphia
Sights For Small Eyes Heckscher Museum, Long Island,NY
Vernacular Abstraction, Wacoal Art Center, Tokyo
Art in Action Sogetsu Museum ,Tokyo
Out of the Ooo Cloud Edith C Blum Art Institute,Bard College Annandale on Hudson NY
1984
Kenny Scharf: Tony Shafrazi Gallery, NY
Kenny Scharf: Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles
Group Exhibitions:
Via New York Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal
The Innovative Landscape Holly Solomon Gallery, NY
New Hand-Painted Dreams: Contemporary Surrealism Barbara Gladstone Gallery, NY
Arte di Frontiera Galerie d'Arte Moderna Bologna, Italy
Aperto 84 Venice Bienale Venice , Italy
The Human Condition Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco
Contemporary Perspectives 1984 Bucknell University, Lewisburg , Pennsylvania
New Idioms Robert Fraser Gallery, London
New Attitudes: Paris/New York Pittsburg Center for the Arts
1983
Kenny Scharf: Tony Shafrazi Gallery ,NY
Kenny Scharf: American Graffiti Gallery , Amsterdam
Group Exhibitions:
Champions Tony Shafrazi Gallery NY, Fay Gold Gallery Atlanta
Surrealist Show Robert Miller Gallery NY
Morton G. Neuman Family Collection Kalamazoo Institute of Art, Kalamazoo,Michigan
The Comic Art Show Whitney Museum of American Art NY
Back to the U.S.A. Kuntsmuseum Luzern,Luzern Switzerland
Tendencias en Nueva York Palacio de Cristal, Madrid
Clocktower Open Studio Show P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center,NY
Bienalle de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Brazil
References Palais de Beaux-Arts, Charleroi, Belgium
1982
Kenny Scharf: Fun Gallery , NY
Group Exhibitions:
Installation Project Room P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City
1981
Kenny Scharf : National Studio Artists P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
Kenny Scharf : Customized Appliances Club 57, NY
Kenny Scharf : The Jetsons Fun Gallery , NY
Group Exhibitions:
Open Studio Show P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City
The Times Square Show Times Square , New York City
New York, New Wave P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City
Drawing Show Mudd Club, NY
Beyond Words Mudd Club , NY
1979
Kenny Scharf : Celebration of the Space Age Club 57, NY
EXHIBITION CATALOGS
Kenny Scharf: NEW! New Paintings and Carzy Roy Al.New York: Paul Kasmin Gallery, 2007
Kenny Scharf: Superpop.New York: Paul Kasmin Gallery. 2005
Kenny Scharf: Groovenian Drawings. Foreward by Robert Williams.Los Angeles: Kantor Gallery 2004
Made in the USA, 1970-2001 Keith Haring,Robert Longo,Kenny Scharf,Bill Beckley.Oberhausen Ger.Ludwig Galerie
The Universals. New York . Pucci International, 1998
Kenny Scharf: Essay by Carter Radcliff and Robert Farris Thompson; interview by Dennis Hopper
New York , Tony Shafrazi Gallery
Kenny Scharf: Essay by Barry Blinderman,Gregory Bowen,Bill McBride,Ann Magnuson and Robert Farris Thompson. Normal , Ill. University Galleries, 1998
In Your Face: New York.: Malca Fine Art
Kenny Scharf: Pop Surrealist.St Petersburgh,Fla.: Salvador Dali Museum. 1997
Pop Art. By Jan de James. London. Phaidon 1996
El Mundo de Kenny Scharf: Monterrey, Mex.: Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey,1996
Kenny Scharf: Essay by Louis Grachos. Miami: Center for the Fine Arts, 1996
Kenny Scharf: Essays by Brooke Adams,Laurence Parmer.Ft.Lauderdale,Fl. Museum of Art,1995
Kenny Scharf: Essay by Brooke Adams,London. Edward Totah Gallery 1992
Kenny Scharf: Paris: Galerie Beauborg, 1990
The Last Decade: American Artists of the 80's.New York. Tony Shafrazi Gallery.1990
Phamakon 90. Tokyo: Mukuhari Messe Contemporary Art Exhibition, 1990
Kenny Scharf: Jungle Book,Art Random.Kyoto: Kyoto Shoin International Co. 1989
Kenny Scharf: Three Portfolios.Tokyo: AC & T Corp.,1989
An American Renaissance: Painting and Sculpture from 1940 to the Present.Ft.Lauderdal,Fl: Museum of Art, 1986
Vernacular Abstraction. Tokyo: Wacoal Art Center, 1985
Figuration Libre: France-USA. Paris: Musee d'art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1984
New Attitudes: Paris/New York. Pittsburgh Pa.: Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, 1984
Via New York. Montreal: Musee d'Art Contemporain, 1984
Reference. Brussels: Palais de Beaux Arrts de Charleroi, 1983
Back to the USA: Luzern,Switz.: Kuntsmuseum Luzern, 1983
Kenny Scharf. New York: Tony Shafrazi Gallery, 1983
Morton G Neuman Family Collection: Kalamazoo,Mich.: Kalamazoo Institute of Art, 1983
Champions: New York. Tony Shafrazi Gallery, 1983
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
THE BASS MUSEUM OF ART, MIAMI BEACH
BRANT FOUNDATION, GREENWICH, CONN.
THE DANNHEISER FOUNDATION, NEW YORK CITY
THE BROAD FOUNDATION, LOS ANGELES
GRONIGER MUSEUM, GRONIGER, HOLLAND
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, NEW YORK CITY
THE JEWISH MUSEUM, NEW YORK CITY
LUDWIG MUSEUM, COLOGNE, GERMANY
MIAMI ART MUSEUM, MIAMI, FLORIDA
MUSEO D ARTE CONTEMPORANEO DE MONTERREY, MONTERREY MEXICO
MUSEU DE ARTE MODERNA, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, LOS ANGELES
NEW ENGLAND CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, BROOKLYN, CONNECTICUT
PASADENA MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA ART
PATERSON MUSEUM, PATERSON, NEW JERSEY
PATRICK LANNAN FOUNDATION, LOS ANGELES
PEARL ARTS FOUNDATION, PORTLAND , OREGON
SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
SOGETSU MUSEUM, TOKYO
STEDELIJK MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND
WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, NEW YORK CITY
