Kenny Scharf

As one of today’s most exciting artists, Kenny Scharf rose to prominence in the New York art scene in the ’80s as part of a dynamic and influential group of artists that included Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. He has since returned to California, but he has retained the playful Pop aesthetic for which he is internationally renowned. This complete new volume covers Scharf’s illustrious career and his experiences and activities in the downtown art scene. His work is instantly recognizable, with idiosyncratic cartoon creatures popping up in the oddest of places: in paintings, on functional objects, or piled up on top of each other to form huge totem-poles. Richard Marshall helps navigate the reader across the decades of Scharf’s career. Carlo McCormick’s essay focuses on Scharf’s fanciful customized cars and installations. Ann Magnuson reminisces about Scharf’s happenings in the East Village and the club scene.

Richard Marshall is an independent curator, consultant, and art historian based in New York. Between 1975 and 1993 he was a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Carlo McCormick is senior editor at Paper magazine in New York. Ann Magnuson is an actress and performance artist living in Los Angeles.