“Come down and see the jungle!” said our great friend and gallery owner Paul Kasmin of his latest show, “Naturafutura and Three Dozen!” featuring the lively and brilliant works of Kenny Scharf. On view from January 27th to February 26th 2011, the exhibit is a combination of large scale paintings inspired by Scharf’s studio in Bahia, Brazil and a collection of his iconic donut works. Upon meeting the artist last night at the opening who looked so dashing, we learned that he paints in the nude! We couldn’t wait to revisit the whimsical works so we decided to make a day of it – we threw together the perfect look to go gallery hopping in Chelsea, followed by a nice brunch in the area…perhaps at local favorite Italian spot Bottino. (We love their tuna tar tar and delicious salads.)
Left to right: Rainforest Down Jacket (on sale $196.99) Stuart Weitzman Over the Knee Suede Boots ($595), Design History Cocoon Sweater (on sale $78.99), Saks Rabbit Hat ($125), Saks Studded Leather Gloves (on sale $69.99) Alexander Wang Retro Sunglasses ($325), Michael Michael Kors Tote ($248)
About the artist: Kenny Scharf was born in Los Angeles and rose to prominence alongside his friends and contemporaries Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring in the 1980s. One of the first artists to inject elements of street culture into the main stream of contemporary art, Scharf has continued to pioneer projects like his Cosmic Cavern—a now legendary all-night DayGlo disco party held in the basement of a Brooklyn warehouse from 2009-2010. Scharf recently completed a large mural wall project on the corner of Houston Street and the Bowery, and will create unique spray-can paintings on 100 roll-up storefront shutters throughout Manhattan for a new public art project by the Mediacy Group’s Gatescapes program. In the spring of 2011, his work will be featured in The MOCA LA’s Art in the Streets exhibition. -PKG
