Kenny Scharf Smoked a Bong Inside a Richard Serra Sculpture

Kenny Scharf inside Richard Serra's Vortex.
Photo: Kenny Scharf, via Instagram.

Many of us—not this reporter, but, you know, other people—have noted that the interiors of Richard Serra’s enormous contraptions of bent and balanced steel plates would make for great places to consume various illicit substances, but only a few brave souls would be so brazen as to act on this idea. One such individual, apparently, is artist Kenny Scharf, who posted a diptych photo to Instagram this morning of himself seemingly smoking a bong inside Vortex, a 67-foot-tall sculpture by Serra outside the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

“Inside/outside tall bong/tall sculpture Richard Serra outside Ft Worth moma,” Scharf wrote alongside the image, which has quickly garnered more than 550 “likes.”

The Serra sculpture seems an uncharacteristically muted and somber space for an artist who is best known for his colorful, cartoon-like graffiti characters, his doughnut paintings, and psychedelic interiors like the Cosmic Cavern in Brooklyn.

Though Texas is on track to legalize medical marijuana next year, possession of two ounces or less currently counts as a misdemeanor, with potential for up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. Possession of drug paraphernalia such as Scharf’s “tall bong,” furthermore, could result in an additional fine of up to $500.

It’s unclear whether or not Serra was warned of Scharf’s high-jacking of his sculpture, nor is it known if Vortex made an adequate hotbox.


Follow Artnet News on Facebook:


Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.
Article topics