The Modern Art Museum (MAM) Shanghai has announced a new Kenny Scharf solo exhibition opening on June 29th through October 8th 2025. Spanning decades of Scharf’s work, Emotional examines the artist’s playful yet meticulous exploration of emotions through a vivid iconography. It features more than 120 multi-disciplinary artworks displayed across three floors of the museum. At the center of the visitor experience is Kenny Scharf’s Beach Club, an installation that transports guests into the artist’s California beachside utopia.
Curated by Shai Baitel, Artistic Director of MAM Shanghai, the exhibition showcases Scharf’s pioneering
street art aesthetic and distinctive visual language. Featuring exaggerated faces and expressive forms, his work connects ancient pictographic languages and modern emoji culture. Long before emojis emerged to fill the emotional gap in digital communication, Scharf developed a visual language that captured the complexities of humanity’s relationship with expression and feeling.
“I am honored and excited for this opportunity to show my work in such a large format and scale at
Kenny Scharf
MAM Shanghai for my first museum show in China,”
The show includes paintings, sculptures, and other objects organized into groups of emotions:
Anger, Disgust, Fear, Happiness, Sadness, and Awe. The exhibition provides the audience with a glimpse
into emotional expression through art history, focusing on Scharf’s approach to this part of human nature.
“Kenny Scharf is a giant whose art and influence cannot be overstated. He is one of the most distinctive artists today, having started alongside Jean Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. The exhibition, with the inclusion of the immersive Beach Club, creates transformative experience for visitors and brings the power of Scharf’s exuberant pop-art fantasy to life in the heart of Shanghai.”
Shai Baitel, Artistic Director of MAM Shanghai
Scharf’s illustrated creations often transcend canvases and are applied to surfaces ranging from
household appliances to automobiles and extend into experiences that blur the line between art and
lifestyle. This sentiment comes to life with the Beach Club concept where an entire floor of MAM
Shanghai is converted into a quintessential beach adventure inspired by Scharf’s daily swimming routine.
The installation captures the sunny, lighthearted, and breezy energy of Venice Beach with delicate sand,
emerald green palms, beach huts, and vendor stands that have Scharf-designed memorabilia that blend
kitschy nostalgia with his signature pop art aesthetic.
The installation reinterprets the iconic pink Miami Beach lifeguard tower as its centerpiece. Six new
sculptures surround the tower while beach chairs, paddleball games, vintage suroards, inflatables, and
skateboards – all with visual interventions by Scharf – complete the experience. Visitors are encouraged
to arrive in flip-flops and beachwear or tread barefoot throughout the sand to fully immerse themselves
into the escapist environment.
Kenny Scharf, Emotional, June 29th – October 8th 2025 MAM Shanghai
MAM Shanghai is hosting public beach parties in the space every weekend with select DJs.
About
Kenny Scharf (b. 1958, United States) is a renowned artist affiliated with the 1980’s East Village Art
movement in New York. Scharf developed a distinct and uniquely personal artistic style in paintings as
well as sculpture, alongside his mentor Andy Warhol, and contemporaries like Jean-Michel Basquiat and
Keith Haring with whom he pioneered contemporary street art. References to popular culture recur through- out his works, such as appropriated cartoon characters from the Flintstones and Jetsons, as well as imagined anthropomorphic creatures. Through ecstatic compositions and a dazzling color palee, Scharf presents an immersive viewing experience that is both intimate and fresh. Scharf’s multifaceted practice- spanning painting, sculpture, installation work, murals, performance and fashion-reflects his dedication to the creation of dynamic forms of art that deconstruct existing artistic hierarchies, echoing the philosophy of Pop Artists.
Yet Scharf’s artistic significance expands beyond the art historical terrain of Pop Art; the artist instead
coined the term “Pop Surrealist” to describe his one-of-a-kind practice. His inclusion in the 1985 Whitney Biennial marked the start of his international phenomenon, a reputation that continues to thrive today.
The Modern Art Museum (MAM) in Shanghai, China, is an institution focused on diversity, equality, nurturing creativity, and education. An institution with a global and multidisciplinary approach, MAM
Shanghai aims at contributing to the education, knowledge and enjoyment of art through an immersive
and engaging experience. Its vast industrial architecture offers a versatile and dynamic space to connect
the shared cultures of the East and West. Located along the ‘cultural corridor’ of museums and galleries
that runs along the riverside in the Pudong New Area, MAM Shanghai utilizes innovative methods to
facilitate public participation and engagement with art.
Shai Baitel is an arts executive and creative director with extensive experience in the fields of arts, culture, and business. He serves as the Artistic Director of the Modern Art Museum (MAM) Shanghai for which he created, among others, the exhibitions “Marina Abramovi?: Transforming Energy” (2024), “David Hockney: Paper Trails” (2024), “Zaha Hadid Architects: Close Up” (2021), and “Bob Dylan:
Retrospectrum” (2019).
Baitel envisioned, co-founded, and helped Mana Contemporary, the largest and most comprehensive arts center of its kind, grow into its current form as an internationally recognized arts-destination. He conceived and realized large scale productions incorporating visual content and choreographed performance art, as well as performing art and theatre. In this capacity as an independent creative director, Baitel has worked for and with high-profile individuals and corporations. Baitel is a prolific writer and frequently contributed to major publications.
