Keith Haring
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Keith HaringSpirit Of Art No.2, 1992Ceramic12 x 12 2/8 x 2 ins 30.48 x 31.24 x 5.08 cm -
Keith HaringStones #1, 1989Lithograph30 x 22 inchesEdition of 60Signed and dated
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Keith HaringStones #2, 1989Lithograph30 x 22 inchesEdition of 60Signed and dated
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Keith HaringUntitled 2 from Free South Africa, 1985Lithograph on Rives BFK32 x 40 ins 81.28 x 101.6 cm53/60Signed, dated and numbered by the artist in the left margin
Keith Haring
Most people know artworks because they are so frequently displayed in popular culture, whether they are from artists from the far past or even recent artists that grew in popularity only a few decades ago. In particular, pieces from artist Keith Haring continue to be seen throughout galleries, exhibits, and mainstream venues as tributes to the simpler things in life.
Born in 1958 in Reading, Pennsylvania, though most of his childhood was spent with his father in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It was during this time that Haring became fascinated with the cartoon artwork drawn by the likes of Walt Disney and Charles Schulz, mimicking their style with his own work at a young age. After graduating from high school in the mid-1970s, Haring decided to go to college for art at the Ivy School of Professional Art in the city of Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, he only finished two semesters before dropping out and moving to New York City and eventually returned to college at the School of Visual Arts in the late 1970s.
Unlike others within the art scene throughout the 1970s, Keith Haring made the entire city his canvas by finding interest in graffiti and street art. He would bring chalk along with him and create doodles and drawings on subways, on buildings and everywhere he went. He predominately drew “simplistic” illustrations in a cartoon and graffiti crossover of dogs and children. He also started to collaborate with fellow street artist Jean-Michel Basquiat to try and bring this artwork to the masses through nightclubs and other easily accessible venues.
As soon as the early 80s hit, Haring was considered a great success and hosted his first solo exhibit that included not only drawings, but also sculpture and installation. His unique take on the cartoon and graffiti style became ubiquitous with the 1980s and well into the 1990s, making him famous worldwide. He also utilized this stardom in order to become an activist against drug use and helping bring art to children. He created several anti-drug murals as well as personally holding workshops to help young artists hone their craft.
Tragedy struck at a young age for Keith Haring when he found out that he was diagnosed with AIDS. Regardless, this didn’t stop him from creating more artwork and putting together the Keith Haring Foundation in order to support fellow AIDS non-profits. Unfortunately, he died in 1990. However, Keith Haring lives on through his artwork and a store he opened that showcases and sells bags, t-shirts, posters and more with his artwork on them called Pop Shop in New York City.
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The Restoration of Luna Luna, Banksy's Stamp for Ukraine
March 8, 2023In 1987 the Luna Luna amusement park opened in Hamburg, Germany. The park was created by Austrian artist, Andre Heller. His vision was to get...Read more -
Keith Haring: Off the Wall; Derrick Adams, Carlos Rolón and Kenny Scharf On the Walls
September 27, 2022Keith Haring was both an artist and activist. He paved the way, in the 1980s, for street artists to gain acceptance in fine art galleries and museums. The world was Haring’s canvas. He drew and painted on subway stations, billboards and walls…walls of homes, offices, schools. Haring’s goal was to make art accessible. And that he did.Read more -
Keith Haring, Derrick Adams and Roy Lichtenstein
February 7, 2022Keith Haring was one of the twentieth century's most innovate artists. Haring took inspiration from Pierre Alechinsky, one of Europe's most avant-garde artists. Alechinsky was born in Brussels, but has spent most of his life living, painting and teaching in Paris. At the age of 94, Alechinsky is still very active. A survey of his work was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in 2017 and, in 2018, he was awarded Japan's Praemium Imperiale Art award for his work.Read more -
Keith Haring’s Pop Shop Fine Art Prints at VFA
May 25, 2021In 1986, Keith Haring opened the Pop Shop in New York to make his art more accessible to the public. The small space, at 292 Lafayette Street in Soho, was a small boutique that sold t-shirts, pins and other novelty items adorned with Haring’s images. The entire shop, walls, floor and ceiling, were painted with Haring motifs.Read more -
Remembering Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring
February 2, 2020The works of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring gave credibility to graffiti artists and took their works from the street into fine art galleries and museums. The frenetic energy of the New York art scene in the 1980s was a perfect time for both Basquiat and Haring to work, play and get the attention they desired and deserved. Both Basquiat and Haring died young, each in a tragic way, yet, decades later, their art still has the ability to impact and inspire young artists and art lovers.Read more -
Hidden Keith Haring Mural Uncovered and Preserved in Amsterdam
June 25, 2018In 1986, Haring painted a large mural on the wall of a building that had served as a warehouse for the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Two years after he painted the mural, which depicts a white, thick-lined sea creature, the wall was covered with aluminum siding for climate control within the building.Read more -
Keith Haring’s Signs and Symbols
April 15, 2016While studying at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Haring took classes in semiotics, the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. As Haring’s work, and Haring himself, matured, along with the influence of the New York art scene, Haring’s work became more intricate and more political.Read more -
Artists like Shepard Fairey: Rebels With (and Without) a Cause
August 24, 2015Police in cities around the world still chase after graffiti artists for vandalizing property. Some of those artists are often commissioned, by the same authorities who considered them vandals, to paint public works in their cities. The work of the rebels in our gallery all have stories to tell, messages to pass along, and some of them have causes feel passionate about.Read more -
Shepard Fairey: Dissent Goes Pop
June 23, 2014Before the Internet became mainstream media and Web 2.0 social channels made content sharing an everyday cultural norm, innovative young artists like Shepard Fairey relied on Word of Mouth advertising to launch “viral” campaigns. Like Pop Artist Keith Haring, who took to Manhattan’s subway stations to garner exposure for his early works, Shepard Fairey employed street tactics to plant seeds of inquiry about the nature of his artistic intentions. In 1989, while a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, Fairey stumbled upon viral success with a sticker he designed and disseminated – bearing the likeness of professional wrestler Andre The Giant.Read more -
Keith Haring Art: Pop’s New Wave
June 7, 2013Keith Haring art is near and dear to us at Vertu Fine Art. Haring is an artist’s artist. Like Warhol , Lichtenstein and Johns, Keith...Read more
