Legendary Kenny Scharf Opens at the Nassau County Museum - Two For One Exhibit!

Two for one: an exhibit I was long awaiting opened in mid March with a second show coinciding that was happily a bit to my surprise.  The Nassau County Museum of Art presented 'Kenny Scharf" and "Glamorous Graffiti" running together which will please anyone slightly interested in pop art, street art, contemporary and historic New York City graffiti.  
On the main level you'll find a mega solo exhibition simply entitled "Kenny Scharf" full with paintings, sculptures and photographs and upstairs see "Glamorous Graffiti." This group of art documents the important New York graffiti art movement of the 1980s as well as reveal the pathway of Scharf's art through the present.  Both mix perfectly as Glamorous Graffiti examines Scharf’s contemporaries of the 1980s and include art by Keith Haring, Jean Michel Basquiat, Crash, Futura 2000 and others.  This was considered to be one of the best and most influential "art times" in NYC.  

First let's look at the exhibit by Scharf, next blog will feature the graffiti exhibit.  Starting with Kenny....

Kenny Scharf (b. 1958) is known for his vibrantly colorful large-scale paintings and exuberantly playful installations. Emerging with the New York City graffiti and street art movement of the 1980s, his imagery draws upon pop icons, media advertising and consumer culture of the 1960s, including TV cartoon characters such as the Flintstones and the Jetsons.

Curated by Director Dr. Karl E. Willers highlights include the expansive mural Pop Renaissance that surrounds the viewer, a version of the artist’s Cosmic Cavern club-like environment, and a recreation of the artist’s former Brooklyn studio complete with spattered walls, painted furniture and other workspace ephemera, (photos below.)

Artist Kenny Scharf

Scharf inaugurated his iconic Cosmic Cavern installations when he turned his basement into one of the day-glo environments that have been his trademark since the 1980s. Versions of these Cosmic Cavern installations have been seen at the 1985 Whitney Biennial and at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, NY.

Works by Scharf are held in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Jewish Museum (all in New York City), Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey (MARCO) (Monterrey, Mexico); the Museum Ludwig (Cologne, Germany) just to name a few. 

For more information visit: http://kennyscharf.com and on Instagram at @kennyscharf and view all of his updates.

Both exhibits are running through July 10, 2016 at the Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Dr, Roslyn, NY 11576. www.nassaumuseum.org.