Growing up in the San Fernando Valley of LA, Kenny Scharf became immersed in the visuals of 1950s cars, television, and the architecture that surrounded him, thus shaping his interests in popular culture, the arts and the surreal. In a sit down interview with Joseph Ian Henrickson for Living Proof Magazine, a bevy of topics are broached. Coming to prominence in the ’80s with fellow artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Scharf forever altered the artistic landscape of the world. In this interview, he speaks about the influence growing up in California had on him and his work, coming to New York, meeting Haring, his thoughts on street art, and the ups and downs of the world that he plays in. Read the whole interview which appears in Living Proof Issue #7 at livingproofmag.com.

Source: Living Proof Magazine

Continuing their original 2010 project, Eric Firestone and Carlo McCormick invited a number of artists to the Arizona desert to paint their own decommissioned planes in a Tucson boneyard. Featuring art from Retna, How & Nosm, Saner and Nunca, The Boneyard Project “Return Trip” will be on display at Tucson’s Pima Air & Space Museum from January 28 to May 31. In the meantime, Viejas Del Mercado has produced a trio of videos depicting the aircraft before and after the realization of the artistic endeavor.

Once the metal birds that soared the sky, decommissioned planes have now been largely relegated to the junkyard. However an initiative that began in 2010 by Eric Firestone and Carlo McCormick is taking shape with another exhibition to beautify these massive canvases. The Boneyard Project “Return Trip” has invited Andrew Schoultz, How & Nosm, Nunca, Retna and Faile to each paint their own planes. This honor will sit alongside last year’s work including Aiko, Bast, Crash, Daze, El Mac, Ron English, Shepard Fairey, Futura, Erik Foss, Tara Mcpherson, Richard Prince, Lee Quinones and Kenny Scharf among others.

Pima Air & Space Museum
6000 East Valencia Road
Tucson, AZ
United State

Photography: Austin McMAnus
Source: Juxtapoz

In Volume 3 of the riveting art series Here Comes the Neighborhood, the spotlight falls on Los Angeles-based artist Kenny Scharf as he expands on a piece he started in 2009. Having seen street art evolve from the New York City graffiti scene in the 1980s, to its status today as an established and respected international art movement, he reflects on his life and career as an artist. Watch as he addresses the downside of art being treated as fashion, and articulates the importance of creating a project where the work itself is not for sale.

Kenny Scharf’s career has spanned over 30 years, first gaining prominence in the early ’80s New York art scene with good friend and roommate Keith Haring, who he started the Cosmic Closet parties with. At first the parties were held in their closet with black lights and trash found on the streets. Eventually outgrowing closets, the parties now take place in the basement of his Brooklyn studio. Above, Kenny gives us a look into his pre-party rituals, painting himself and friends surrounded by literally piles and piles of costumes.

Source: ABC Journal

Following up on his most recent mural on the corner of Bowery & Houston in New York City, artist Kenny Scharf has packed up his cans and headed over to the City of Brotherly Love to complete his latest work. Covering the side of a tall building in Philadelphia, Scharf was able to complete a mural that features several of his signature characters in a mere four days. What that being said, it’s anyone’s guess where he’s off to next.

Source: Arrested Motion

We gave you a peek at Liu Bolin’s project painting himself into the Kenny Scharf mural on Houston and Bowery the other day. New from the Wooster Collective, however, is a video of all the action going down. Chronicling Liu’s transformation from man-into-mural, as well as the extensive amount of work necessary to ensure the project’s success and the reactions of lucky passers-by on the street, this short video is definitely worth checking out.

Known for painting himself in urban camouflage in order to sink into the background of a variety of situations, Chinese artist Liu Bolin recently began a New York City-based photography project by blending into Kenny Scharf’s mural on Houston and Bowery. Despite international acclaim for his work, Scharf had some major shoes to fill when working on this wall as it has served as a medium for Keith Haring and Shepard Fairey – just to name a few – and is scheduled to be painted over by French artist and photographer JR in the near future. Nonetheless, Liu’s choice of the Brooklyn-based painter’s mural as a setting for his photograph speaks well for Scharf’s final product on one of Manhattan’s most well-known urban canvases. In fact, Kenny was so honored to have his piece selected by Liu that he showed up to help the Chinese artist’s assistants paint him early yesterday morning.

Source: Wooster Collective

The Levi’s Workshop presents a new video featuring the work of Kenny Scharf, directed by Nathan Meier and Malia Scharf. The piece was filmed in New York, Los Angeles and at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) in conjunction with the exhibition “Art in the Streets.” Learn about the Kenny Scharf feature-length documentary film here. Enjoy!

Known best for his bright, colorful imagery which depicts cartoon-style characters, Kenny Scharf is a prominent New York City street artist who rose to popularity during the ’80s. A key figure in the East Village art scene, Scharf was good friends with the late graffiti artist Keith Haring and has done a number of collaborative projects including several album covers for The B-52s. The MOCA has selected several of Scharf’s works for their “Art in the Streets” exhibition including a large wall mural and one of his famous blacklight closet installations.

Photography: Brandon Shigeta