‘I really prefer if the work speaks for itself: I try to make
images that are universally ’readable’ and self-explanatory...’

haring's bold lines and active figures - a rich network of
ideograms - carry poignant messages of vitality and unity,
sociality and sexually explicit nature.
the exhibition contains a selection of drawings, paintings,
sculptures, self portraits and a large wall of polaroids
showing keith haring working at his projects and people
he worked and traveled with.

keith haring
was born on may 4, 1958 in reading, pennsylvania
he started drawing at a very early age, learning basic
cartooning skills from his father. after quitting the commercial
arts school ‘ivy school of professional art’ in pittsburgh, usa,
haring continued his studies on his own.

swept up in the downtown’s energy and spirit of new
york city, he found his ‘canvases’ on the streets, subways
and clubs - which made his work accessible to anyone,
not just the art elite. he started to communicate to the city
with his world language of art:
graffiti was something that was predominantly done by kids
from the ages of 8, 10, all the way to 18. It was a way for
them to talk together, communicate together.
haring collaborated with one of them: a 15 year old graffiti
artist (called angel ortiz) whose tag was LA II, for little angel.
haring’s first show - at shafrazi's gallery - was a huge
success: the art crowd was there, the graffiti crowd was
there, warhol was there, so was roy lichenstein...

keith haring was inspired by artists like pierre alechinsky,
jean dubuffet, brion gysin etc. focusing on creating a truly
public art he received strong support for his project from
friends, fans and mentors, including andy warhol.
haring’s own vocabulary is made of very simple figurative
signs: hearts, babies, dogs and various silhouettes
and take on many different meanings depending
on how he put them together. he uses mostly vibrant and
intense colors.

haring also made copies of famous statues, such as
michelangelo's david, and the milo’s venus, as well as
copies of ancient greek and egyptian amphoras.
reinterpreting past cultures’ artworks, he gives them a
kitschy, contemporary feel which owes much to pop art.
haring traveled a lot. during many visits in paris he got
particularily interested in picasso’s work. at this time
metal masks and some paintings - which break away from
haring’s typical style - were born.

In 1988 haring was diagnosed with AIDS.
he established the keith haring foundation to provide some
funding and imagery to AIDS organizations and children’s
programs.
he painted several murals - for example ‘pisa's mural’, 1989
- expressing universal concepts of birth, death, love, sex,
peace and war.

keith haring died of AIDS related complications at the age
of 31 on february 16, 1990. his imagery and graphics
became one of the most universally recognized visual
languages of the 20th century. his art work
continues to reach out to the broadest of audiences,
dissolving the boundary between fine art and popular
culture, between the gallery and the street.

see more info on keith haring’s work
the keith haring foundation
http://www.haring.com

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