Exhibitions

Kenny Scharf

Madrid, Spain

A neon-soaked collision of 1980s street culture and cosmic fantasy from the pioneer of New York’s vibrant Pop Surrealism.

Kenny Scharf Junglematic 2023
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Image credit

Kenny Scharf Junglematic 2023 Colección Blanca y Borja Thyssen-Bornemisza

Meet the artist

ArtLovers Tip

If you are visiting on a Monday, take advantage of the free access between 12:00 and 16:00, but try to arrive right at the start to enjoy the immersive installations with a bit more breathing room.

Exhibition Highlights - What you'll see

Kenny Scharf emerged from the grit of 1980s New York alongside Basquiat and Haring, bringing a playful, hallucinogenic energy to the East Village art scene. This exhibition showcases his signature Pop Surrealism, a world where Saturday morning cartoons meet high-art ambition. His work is a celebration of the ecstatic, blending plastic consumer culture with deep, surrealist dreamscapes that continue to challenge traditional artistic hierarchies.

You're watching a kaleidoscope of anthropomorphic shapes and dizzying palettes that seem to vibrate against the gallery walls. The scale of the murals and the tactile nature of his sculptures create a space that feels less like a museum and more like a portal into a technicolor universe, where the boundaries between high art and street life simply dissolve.

Worth the trip

  • Street Art Royalty: Experience the work of a foundational figure who defined the 1980s New York scene alongside Warhol and Basquiat.
  • Immersive Scale: Wander through installations and murals that transform the museum's Post-pop rooms into an all-encompassing sensory environment.
  • Pop Surrealism Unveiled: Discover the unique aesthetic bridge Scharf built between the chaos of the city streets and the refined world of fine art.

How to experience it

Begin by standing back to take in the sheer kinetic energy of Scharf’s large-scale compositions before moving closer to find the hidden, grinning faces tucked into the patterns. After the intensity of the Post-pop galleries, take a slow walk through the Paseo del Prado to let the bright, electric colors of the exhibition settle against the stately trees and classical architecture of Madrid.

Madrid, Spain

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