Scharf, Kenny | Mouse Eats Cheese Underwater, 1993 — available on Composition Gallery

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Watercolor and ink on paper. Signed and Dated on reverse By Kenny Scharf. Also signed by his two daughters Zena & Malia who both contributed to the painting.

Mouse Eats Cheese Underwater (1993) by Kenny Scharf is a whimsical collaboration with his daughters Zena and Malia. Executed in watercolor and ink, the work bursts with playful energy, featuring a cartoonish red-eared mouse munching on cheese in an underwater fantasy. Swirling purple currents, aquatic plants, and a bright yellow fish animate the dreamy seascape. The words “YUM YUM” in a speech bubble add to the comic-book flair. This joyful piece blends Scharf’s signature pop-surrealist style with childlike spontaneity, turning family creativity into a vibrant visual narrative.

Kenny Scharf (United States, 1958) is a contemporary artist known for his vibrant, cartoon-inspired paintings, sculptures, and installations. Emerging from New York's 1980s East Village art scene alongside Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Scharf's work blends pop culture imagery with surrealism, often featuring fantastical creatures and cosmic themes. His art has been exhibited internationally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Kenny Scharf

Mouse Eats Cheese Underwater, 1993

Name: Mouse Eats Cheese Underwater, 1993
SKU: 16103

Form

Drawing / Watercolor

Drawing / WatercolorDrawing and watercolor are two traditional art techniques which stand alone as media, but are often used in conjunction with each other. Drawing can create the basic outlines for watercolor painting. Drawing over dried watercolor or using watercolor pencils are combined media techniques.

Medium

Mixed Media

Mixed MediaMixed media refers to artwork that incorporates more than one medium within a single piece. Unlike multimedia art, which combines distinct forms of visual art and often includes elements like sound, video, or digital media, mixed media focuses on combining traditional art materials, such as paint, ink, and collage. Mixed media art allows artists to achieve a wide range of effects and textures by layering and blending different materials.

Edition

Unique work

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●Inventory 16103

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Sculpture / Object

Mixed Media

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I want to bring art into the everyday life of everybody.
- Kenny Scharf

Kenneth R. "Kenny" Scharf is an American painter, sculptor, and filmmaker notable for his cartoon-like depictions of hyper-populated scenes in his work.

Scharf studied art at the Pratt Institute and the Art Students League of New York. Scharf's first solo show was at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in 1982, and his works have been shown at several international art festivals, including the Whitney Biennial (1985, 1987), Venice Biennale (1984, 1999), and Documenta 8 (1987). His early influences include comic strips, cartoons, and toys.

Kenny Scharf's works are often surrealistic depictions of landscapes filled with cartoon-like people in various states of thought and action. His work has been described as "a cross between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali" by art critics due to his trademark subject matter consisting mainly of fragmented human figures in a state of awry. The common themes in Scharf's work are drugs, sexual activities, and outer space, including a series of paintings from the "Space Angels" period, which were inspired by the promotional artwork for pornographic films. (Artist Website)

Artwork by Andy Warhol

What is pop-art?

Pop Art is an art movement that began in Britain in 1955 and in the late 1950s in the U.S. It challenged traditional fine arts by incorporating imagery from popular culture, such as news, advertising, and comic books. Pop Art often isolates and recontextualizes materials, combining them with unrelated elements. The movement is more about the attitudes and ideas that inspired it than the specific art itself. Pop Art is seen as a reaction against the dominant ideas of Abstract Expressionism, bringing everyday consumer culture into the realm of fine art.

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Kenny Scharf

Mouse Eats Cheese Underwater, 1993

44.5 x 30 cm

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Kenny Scharf