This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  The art of Kenny Scharf is most widely associated with the Pop-Art*
movement of the late 1970's. He is known for his paintings that
employ surrealistic imagery inspired by television, cartoons and the
club culture he experienced during his youth.
Scharf was born
in Hollywood, California, in 1958, and was interested in art as a
child. His first exposure to Surrealism* occurred in the 1960's when he
saw a book on Salvador Dali. Around the age of twelve, Scharf
took painting lessons at a local art store in Los Angeles where he
learned how to paint still lifes. After high school he attended
the University of California at Santa Barbara where he studied history
and art. In 1978, he moved to New York City and enrolled in the School
of Visual Arts*. It was there that Scharf met artist friends Keith
Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
During his academic years his
art developed a more futuristic theme reflecting his childhood
fascination with American television. In 1979 he had his first
solo exhibition at Fiorucci in New York City. Scarf also engaged
in many alternative artistic ventures such as performance art* and
group productions with his band of friends that included Andy Warhol
and other artists and musicians.
In 1983 Scharf held a one-man show at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New
York, which provided him with the level of recognition his close
friends had already experienced. Later that year his work appeared at
the Whitney Museum of American Art, and in 1985 at the Whitney
Biennial* show.
During the late 1980's and 1990's, Scharf
actively exhibited his art nationally and internationally and
constantly experimented with textures within his ever-evolving
pop-surrealist style. In 1992 Scharf, his wife and daughters
moved to Miami Beach, Florida, where he continued to exhibit his
art. He eventually designed and marketed a clothing and accessory
line based on his artwork, reflecting his principles of making
affordable art available to the public. He continues to be a
prolific artist and his viewable work is often incorporated in shows
based on the art movements with which he and his well-known friends
were involved.
* For more in-depth information about these terms and others, see
AskART.com Glossary
http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx
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Biography from Rogallery.com:
|  Kenny Scharf, born in Hollywood, California in 1958, first came to
artistic prominence in the early 1980s in New York, along with artists
Keith Haring and Basquiat. Scharf placed his bright imagery,
drawn from television and pop culture, on the streets and in nightclubs
of the city, helping to nurture a dynamic and freewheeling scene.
Scharf
calls his art Pop Surrealism: "Surrealism is about the unconscious, and
I feel my work is about the unconscious. The images come from the
unconcious except that my unconscious is filled with pop imagery.
My unconscious is pop, so therefore the art would be Pop-Surrealism."
Scharf
is a prolific artist who has worked in many traditional media,
including painting, printmaking, drawing and sculpture; he has also
designed lifeguard stations, Zippo lighters, watches, cellphones,
carpets and carnival carousels. He is currently working on an
animated film series in Hollywood.
Scharf has exhibited widely,
including the Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, Bienalle de Sao
Paolo, Brazil, Tony Shafrazi Gallery and Queens Museum of Art, New
York, Museum of Contemporary Art, Monterrey, and the Ft. Lauderdale
Museum of Art.
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Kenny Scharf is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
California Painters
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