PARLEY X KENNY SCHARF
Legendary American artist and painter Kenny Scharf has a great affection for the ocean and the shorelines of North America. Collecting plastic from beaches and incorporating it into his art since the 1980s, Scharf has always been an advocate to raise awareness around ecological issues and how society affects nature. Therefore, it's no surprise that the artist now collaborates with Parley on a range of hand-painted surfboards to support their effort to end marine plastic pollution.
“I have decided to support Parley for the Oceans because I am obsessed with plastic in our oceans and I jumped at the chance to do anything with other people that are also sharing that obsession.”
Kenny Scharf
A painter and performer inhabiting the visual worlds of both street art and popular culture, Scharf’s graffiti paintings gained him notoriety and established him as a key figure of the New York art scene in the 1980s. Often working with improvisation, Scharf creates playful, gestural pieces that blend stylized motifs with references to the surreal, science fiction, and icons of popular culture.
All proceeds of the sales will benefit Parley’s Global Cleanup Network with a special focus on protecting the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico where the artist has spent numerous years and where Parley has been active since 2017. Each board has been hand-painted by Scharf and hand shaped in collaboration with legendary surfboard maker Tim Bessell.
The collaborative surfboards unite the worlds of art and surfing as a messenger for the cause. Each board presents a surfable symbol and a call for eco-innovation, creativity and collaboration to protect the oceans.
“Kenny Scharf’s contribution to Parley is a wonderful example of how an artist can use his work to create impact, his voice to encourage thousands of us to move forward and to believe that we can invent our way out of this global plastic crisis with creativity, ingenuity and passion.”
Parley’s founder and CEO, Cyrill Gutsch
