Last year, acclaimed Los Angeles-based pop artist Kenny Scharf was honored by the New York Academy of Art at its 2022 Tribeca Ball Spring event, where he created a one-off mural for the institution. Colorful, loud and playful, Los Niños Y Las Niñas featured a medley of his frantic characters swirling one another in his signature palette of vibrant blues and pinks. A year on, Scharf has partnered up with the New York Academy of Art and Artspace to bring the mural to life in a form of a new screen print. The artwork is an exact replica of the original and will come signed and numbered by the artist.
A meteoric figure in his own right, Scharf first arose on the scene in Manhattan’s East Village back in the 1980s, alongside fellow pop artists in Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Whether creating on a wall, canvas or car surface, Scharf’s imaginative style has not aged a day since his formative years — carrying both a childlike curiosity to his approach to color and composition, while still commenting on complex themes, from the threats of war to the climate emergency. “One very important and guiding principle to my work is to reach out beyond the elitist boundaries of fine art and connect to popular culture through my art,” said Scharf in a statement.
Sizing at 15 x 38 inches, the print is limited to an edition of 100 and printed on 290 gram Estrada Rag paper. Proceeds of the sales will help fund a new scholarship initiated at the New York Academy of Art. Los Niños Y Las Niñas is available in two options: the first is unframed for $1,250 USD and in a black, white or natural frame for $1,600 USD.
