2008 | POSTER FOR THE FILM BEAUTIFUL LOSERS | CLIENT: SIDETRACK FILMS

Emerging Talent No. 8: Keith Scharwath
“I’m originally from New Jersey,” says graphic artist Keith Scharwath. “I reluctantly applied to art school after sustaining one too many horrible skateboarding injuries. I got into SVA with a portfolio of horrible drawings I had done the night before the review. I worked hard at it, and four years later I graduated with a degree in Graphic Design.” Scharwath’s first job out of school was at MTV, where he worked for several years. Having never left the tri-state area, Scharwath decided to escape to L.A. He landed a job at Brian Collins’ Ogilvy Brand Integration Group (BIG), where he worked under Rebeca Méndez and Somi Kim. BIG LA was shuttered in late 2006, and since then Scharwath has been freelance on print, motion, web, mobile and retail graphics. He’s worked with Nike, 180 Amsterdam, Adidas, Boost Mobile and art curator/filmmaker Aaron Rose.

For Rose’s documentary Beautiful Losers, a film that follows the careers of a group of ’90s artists who emerged from the punk, skate and graffiti subcultures, Scharwath designed the movie poster, employing typography from Geoff McFetridge, one of the film’s featured artists. The poster is a good example of Scharwath’s visual aesthetic, which he describes as “from the heart, spontaneous, vibrant, bold, imperfect, unrestrained, rarely serious, always accessible.” He has no particular stylistic hang-ups, letting the idea dictate how he makes something look. “I have fun creating, and I think this comes through in my work,” Scharwath says. “But I’m a designer before I’m an artist. My work is about creating unexpected solutions to everyday design problems. For example: How do you create a movie poster that encompasses the work of 15 famous artists AND communicates what the movie is about? The real reward for me is connecting with the viewer.”

Scott Denton-Cardew of Denton-Cardew Design, who has worked with Scharwath, says, “Keith has a unique set of qualities, such as his use of color and typography, combined with an illustrator’s eye and touch. His artwork remains contemporary while squarely acknowledging the past.”

Scharwath enjoys collaboration with other creatives. The Nike Re-Run exhibition—which celebrated the birth of jogging with a 3D arrangement of panels clad with ’70s-inspired graphics—was another collaborative effort with Aaron Rose and several other artists. In addition, Scharwath is a contributor to the West Coast art and culture blog ViewersLikeU. He’s taken up art activism, participating in the recent BARACK ON fundraiser for the Obama presidential campaign at the Los Angeles silkscreen shop/gallery Fresh Pressed. Asked what’s next for him, Scharwath replies, “More collaborating, fewer mouse clicks, more hammering, sawing and building.”
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