Keith Haring - Contemporary Art Part II New York Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Fun Gallery, New York

  • Catalogue Essay


    "The reason that the 'baby' has become my logo or signature is that it is the purest and most positive experience of human existence," wrote Haring in his journal in 1986. "Children are color-blind and still free of all the complications, greed and hatred that will slowly be instilled in them through life." Recognizing that early exposure to artwork and unfettered creative expression can go a long way in opening up new modes of viewing the world, Haring was tireless in his work with children of all ages and backgrounds. Collaborating on murals with kids in America's hardest-hit inner cities and giving drawing workshops at museums everywhere form Bordeaux to Tokyo, Haring encouraged a world view that rendered racial, cultural and sexual differences unimportant in the face of a commonly shared humanity. "Whatever else I am," he mused in a 1987 journal entry, " I'm sure I, at least, have been a good companion to a lot of children and maybe have touched their lives in a way that will be passed on through time, and taught them a kind of simple lesson of sharing and caring."

    A. Codrington, “Keith’s Kids”, Sphere Magazine, 1997.

  • Artist Biography

    Keith Haring

    American • 1958 - 1990

    Haring's art and life typified youthful exuberance and fearlessness. While seemingly playful and transparent, Haring dealt with weighty subjects such as death, sex and war, enabling subtle and multiple interpretations. 

    Throughout his tragically brief career, Haring refined a visual language of symbols, which he called icons, the origins of which began with his trademark linear style scrawled in white chalk on the black unused advertising spaces in subway stations. Haring developed and disseminated these icons far and wide, in his vibrant and dynamic style, from public murals and paintings to t-shirts and Swatch watches. His art bridged high and low, erasing the distinctions between rarefied art, political activism and popular culture. 

    View More Works

242

Untitled

1981
Gold metallic marker on metal.
2 x 42 x 1 in. (5.1 x 106.7 x 2.5 cm)
Signed and dated "May 5 - 1981 K. Haring" on the reverse. The Keith Haring Studio, LLC. has confirmed that they will provide the purchaser with a certificate of authenticity for this work.

Estimate
$100,000 - 150,000 

Contemporary Art Part II

8 November 2011
New York