KENNY SCHARF

In this exhibition visitors are able to experience a new rendition of the notorious Scharf Schak. Originally built as a playful pop-up shop for small art products and memorabilia, this portable store opened viewers to a more accessible and commercial experience of the artist’s work.

As visitors enter the first of two spaces, they will encounter retail items for sale, echoing the origins of Kenny’s art practice and his previous Scharf Schaks. This shop installation includes pop art aesthetics that can both critique or embrace commercialism and its influence on the art production process.

As visitors enter the second space of the exhibition, they can experience a part of Kenny’s world that is more sequestered than his energetic painted spaces filled with frenzied characters. The curation of paintings, sculptures, prints, and a wall mural further contextualise Kenny’s store items as they both embody similar imagery and aesthetics. Viewers are able to ascend from one room to the next, going deeper into the mind of the artist while further blurring the line between art and commercial product.