Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
US pop art legend's funky 'Scharf Schak' from the '90s reborn in Seoul
“Scharf Schak,” a defunct art shop run by American pop artist Kenny Scharf in New York during the 1990s, has been reborn in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul for the first time in nearly 30 years since its demise. Courtesy of Baik Art
By Park Han-sol
By Park Han-sol
“Scharf Schak,” an old newspaper kiosk-turned-art shop operated by American pop art legend Kenny Scharf, was a source of both intrigue and distaste for the art world when it first opened its funky doors to the public in 1992 on the street of SoHo, New York.
Like his close friend, pop art giant Keith Haring (1958-90), who earlier ran a street storefront named Pop Shop, he was called a sell-out by some as he customized everyday objects for sale ― applying his signature colorful cartoon and science-fiction aesthetics on Zippo lighters, Swatch watches, magnets, drinking glasses, shirts and hats.
Scharf, however, who emerged on New York's East Village art scene during the 1980s alongside Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-88), maintained that the small-scale shop was an extension of his philosophy: art is something “that can't be confined to just a painting for a museum or gallery, but that has to explode off the wall into your life.”
Although his business experiment had to come to an end after three years of losing a lot of his own money ― there were some months when he made less than $200, “Scharf Schak” has been reborn in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul for the first time in nearly three decades since its demise.
The LA-based pop artist Kenny Scharf / Courtesy of Baik Art
“The original Schak was so small, we had no room for display. It was all made with my own money, so we couldn't really afford anything more than T-shirts,” said the 63-year-old artist during an online press conference held at Baik Art's pop-up exhibition hall as he showed excitement at the shop's new look. “I'm very happy to see all these new designs. I feel like I've come so far.”
Standing outside on the street of the exhibition venue is a recreated version of the shop's original look ― from a thatched roof reminiscent of a beach hut to the cheeky smile drawn across the wooden panel.
Stepping inside the hall, viewers are met with a vibrant mix of Scharf's works spanning four decades. These include the original wooden sign that used to hang at his New York storefront, recreation of his now-gone murals from the parking lot of Hammer Museum, as well as his latest wall painting “Attak Pak,” tapestries and vase-like sculptures.
Even in this pop-up show alone, his pieces aren't limited to just one genre or two. They are scattered across the wall, the floor, the window and even a series of white cotton T-shirts.
“Part of my philosophy as an artist is that I want to communicate and be accessible,” he said. “I want to exist on all levels, whether it be an elitist art world or someone just walking in the street going about their day. So that's why I do murals; that's why I paint cars. I want to inspire and bring good art to the everyday experience.”
His emphasis on art's accessibility to the public resonates more strongly in present-day society as art merchandising is no longer an unusual sight.
The exhibition offers a glimpse of Scharf's life through the recreated version of his studio in Los Angeles. The coarse, colorful brushstrokes on the wall ― which reflect his painting habit as he wipes his brush on its white surface when he paints with oil ― add to a fever dream of his art. Courtesy of Baik Art
Scharf describes many of the pieces in the shop as “pop surrealist,” a term he coined himself.
“It's embracing surrealism, which is art that comes from the subconscious, deep within a dreamlike state. But it's also mixed with pop art ― something that everybody shares and experiences together.”
Such an unlikely juxtaposition of one's inner state and an external cultural force into a single artwork stems from his experience of growing up in the age of television and advertising, when popular imagery “infiltrated and became part of my subconscious imagery.”
The LA-based artist uses quirky pop aesthetics not only to explore his own subconscious but to reflect his lifelong engagement and concern about environmental pollution. Sometimes, he sings the praises of the beauty of nature through organic, curvilinear shapes; at other times, he chooses silk screen prints, shapes defined by hard, perpendicular edges and stacks of discarded plastics to criticize human-induced destruction.
Installation view of the pop-up exhibition, “Scharf Schak” / Courtesy of Baik Art
At the age of 63, Scharf continues to explore new realms and genres in his artistic drive to “bring art to the street and elevate the mundane.”
While he expressed his wish to keep painting and drawing murals, he plans to hold a new sculpture show at Gallery Hyundai in collaboration with Baik Art in the fall of next year. He is also working on a video game-like animation project and immersive projection featuring his recognizable imagery.
“Scharf Schak” runs through Christmas at Baik Art's pop-up exhibition hall in eastern Seoul.