Kenny Scharf

MOODZ

The serial imagery and the iconic quality of Scharf’s faces evoke the work of Andy Warhol. The conceptual structure also reflects the heritage of minimal art. His work fuses the vocabulary of Pop and Minimalism with the 1960s California TV culture of his childhood.

In 1978, Scharf moved to New York to study art. Later on with his friends Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Keith Haring, he gained notoriety in 80s Manhattan for bridging contemporary art and graffiti culture.

This new book by cult American artist, Kenny Scharf (b. 1958, Los Angeles) reveals his latest body of works entitled ‘MOODZ’.

Comprising over 330 circular paintings of faces (each one different) this comprehensive ensemble gives form to a population of moods, feelings, expressions, and colours. Scharf explains they all reflect aspects of his own personality.

This publication gathers together the entire series of ‘MOODZ’, with views from its 2019/20 exhibition in Los Angeles (US) and Ibiza (Spain), and documentation related to the project.

Featuring an essay by American gallerist and cultural figure Jeffrey Deitch, and an interview with the artist by Lio Malca. Also included is a poster (72 x 55 cm) on which all the faces are reproduced together as if they form a colour chart.

Whilst listening to music, Scharf embraces the immediacy of spray paint. His gestures use his entire body. The process is totally physical, like a dance. He uses images from popular culture, especially from TV cartoons, highlighting a kind of eternal youth, a utopic colorful pop world full of comical monsters, floating donuts, and one-eyed creatures.

£55.00
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