Photo by Matt Lam for Secret Los Angeles.
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Get your car washed while enjoying pop art this weekend! Legendary pop surrealist Kenny Scharf is celebrating the release of his brand-new book KARBOMBZ! with a free, in-person signing at an actual car wash.
Scharf will celebrate the book’s release with a live signing event on Saturday, February 21, 2026 from 12–4 PM at Village Car Wash, making this less of a traditional book launch and more of an immersive art moment.
The event is free and open to the public, with books available for purchase on-site. (Just note: no large objects or canvases will be signed.)
Hosted by BEYOND THE STREETS and Jeffrey Deitch, the event goes down at Village Car Wash in Venice, the site of one of Scharf’s newest murals and a fitting backdrop for his technicolor, joy-fueled universe.
Photo by Matt Lam for Secret Los Angeles. What Are Kenny Scharf’s Karbombz?
The Karbombz project began accidentally in 2013, when Scharf found himself stuck in traffic in Alabama and decided there was nothing more boring than a traffic jam. His creative solution was to paint the cars!
Over the next ten years, Scharf transformed hundreds of vehicles in under 30 minutes each, turning everyday commutes into rolling works of art and surprising drivers with spontaneous bursts of color, humor, and rebellion.
“One of the things I love to do is take ordinary things and elevate them through the simple act of painting them. It is my rebellion against the given,” says Scharf.
Why This Project Is Pure L.A.
According to curator and art dealer Jeffrey Deitch, these painted cars aren’t just art, they’re part of the city’s visual DNA.
“Kenny Scharf’s Karbombz are an essential part of the visual culture of Los Angeles. Driving a Karbombed car, or seeing one on the street, you are part of the art.”
In a city built around cars, Scharf’s work flips the script by turning traffic, parking lots, and car washes into galleries.
Photo by Matt Lam for Secret Los Angeles. Inside the New Book: KARBOMBZ!
The newly released KARBOMBZ! book is a maximalist dream. Published by BEYOND THE STREETS, the 220-page softcover features over 600 images. It’s designed to look like it fell straight out of an early-2000s Photoshop and QuarkXPress fever dream, with nods to car ads and Auto Trader magazines baked right in.
Kenny Scharf’s KARBOMBZ! is being released as a first edition of just 1,000 copies. The book is available for purchase for $65.
📅 When: Saturday, February 21, 2026 from 12 PM – 4 PM
📍 Where: Village Car Wash (12415 Venice Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90066)