Archival Pigment Ink Print with Silkscreened High-Gloss Varnish and Diamond Dust
Paradis Perdu by Kenny Scharf is a vibrant and surreal mixed media artwork that brings a whimsical, cartoonish world to life. The piece depicts a fantastical landscape with animated trees, smiling flowers, and playful creatures in a dreamlike setting. The yellow tree-like figures with expressive faces stand out in a landscape dominated by bright, swirling colors and a shimmering background of blue skies and cosmic patterns. Scharf's signature style combines pop art with elements of surrealism and fantasy, using vivid colors and high-gloss varnish to create a dynamic and energetic composition. The inclusion of diamond dust adds an extra layer of sparkle, enhancing the fantastical and otherworldly feel of the piece.
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.
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.
Archival Pigment Ink Print with Silkscreened High-Gloss Varnish and Diamond Dust
Paradis Perdu by Kenny Scharf is a vibrant and surreal mixed media artwork that brings a whimsical, cartoonish world to life. The piece depicts a fantastical landscape with animated trees, smiling flowers, and playful creatures in a dreamlike setting. The yellow tree-like figures with expressive faces stand out in a landscape dominated by bright, swirling colors and a shimmering background of blue skies and cosmic patterns. Scharf's signature style combines pop art with elements of surrealism and fantasy, using vivid colors and high-gloss varnish to create a dynamic and energetic composition. The inclusion of diamond dust adds an extra layer of sparkle, enhancing the fantastical and otherworldly feel of the piece.
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.
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)
Contemporary art refers to avant-garde or innovative art created in the recent past or present day. The exact starting point of contemporary art varies depending on the institution, often tied to the founding year of museums or galleries that showcase the style. Contemporary art is characterized by its focus on current ideas, diverse media, and the exploration of new concepts and techniques.