Kenny Scharf's Untitled (Wall Clock), Untitled (Rug), Untitled (Boom Box), Untitlted (Record Player). Untitled and Untitled (Bong) as exhibited at Sotheby's New York galleries. Image Courtesy of Sotheby's.

Kenny Scharf met Haring at the School of Visual Arts in New York and they became fast friends. Both shared an interest in the intersection of graffiti, Pop art and cartoon culture. The two became instant collaborators, hosting famed Cosmic Cavern parties at their shared apartment and curating exhibitions and performing at the downtown artist hotspot Club 57.

Kenny Scharf, pictured at Haring’s first opening with Tony Shafrazi Gallery, 1981. Photo by Tseng Kwong Chi, © Muna Tseng Dance Projects, Inc.

Scharf was an integral part of the downtown community that included John Sex, Drew Straub, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bruno Schmidt, Tseng Kwong Chi and of course Haring. This band of artists remained close even as Haring and Scharf gained more widespread popularity. This core group would continue to provide strong support and community throughout the 1980s and beyond.