The artist Kenny Scharf, born in Los Angeles in 1958, moved to New York City in the late 1970s to dive into the art scene of the East Village, where he shared a living space with Keith Haring. His paintings are inspired by comics, science fiction and TV cartoon series. The New York subway graffiti writers fascinated him because they seemed to make art out of pure passion. Although Scharf does not like the term “street art” himself, he can be regarded as one of its forefathers. Scharf used the spray can in public space, making a place for his cosmic-surrealistic splashes of color – his “blobs” – in the cityscape of New York. To this day, Scharf creates large-scale murals, which he paints quickly and alone, without assistants.

His work seen here is titled The Blobenstein. It is an example of his characteristic style with bold colors and typical “blob” creatures. Scharf describes himself as a “pop surrealist.” Alien, psychedelic elements feed into a vibrant and visually accessible aesthetic, one that is alive with the energy of the wild 1980s.

On loan courtesy of the Gewobag collection.