Keith Haring

Kagan Martos Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above in June 2003

Alexandra Kolossa, Keith Haring, 1958-1990: A Life for Art, Los Angeles, 2004, p. 60, illustrated in color

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of light wear and handling at the edges, which has resulted in some minor abrasions in the lower corners. There are scattered accretions, and there are minute, pinpoint sized gaps in the brushstroke, which appear to be original to the work's condition and to be inherent to the drying process of the paint. These fluoresce quite brightly when inspected under ultraviolet light. This painting does not demonstrate any evidence of in painting under ultraviolet light. This work is unframed.
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Having emerged as an artist on the streets and subways of New York at the start of the 1980’s, Keith Haring quickly made a name for himself as a gifted draughtsman and visual urban poet through his socially conscious and pop culture-inspired murals, paintings, graffiti and sculpture. “I am trying to state things as simply as possible, like a prime number,” Haring once remarked. “So much information can be conveyed with just one line… Economy has played a big part in the work from the beginning in all senses – materials, form, and function” (Barry Blinderman, ”Keith Haring’s Subterranean Signatures,” Arts Magazine, vol. 56, no. 1, September 1981, pp. 164-165).

Gil’s Dream exhibits this “economy” in its use of symbolism, line and color to depict what may be interpreted as a portrait of the artist through his companion’s eyes. Openly gay and later diagnosed with AIDS, Haring was involved in a platonic relationship with a young New Yorker, Gil Vazquez, near the end of his life. Travelling together during his final years, Haring’s journals reveal that he was often conflicted by the nature of their relationship: “No matter what happens it can’t be a happy story. The fact that it kept on this long and got to this point shows me something about how ignorant and how vulnerable I’ve become. Maybe it also shows me the power of love, even love like this” (Keith Haring, Keith Haring Journals, New York, 2010, n.p.). Haring’s depiction of a figure on a cross titled with his companion’s name creates powerful references to his life, career, and the shadow cast by his impending death and a desire for his personal legacy.  

In contemporary Christianity, the cross is a symbol of atonement that reminds followers of God’s love in sacrificing his son for humanity. It represents Christ’s victory over sin and death, since it is believed that through his death and resurrection he conquered death itself. When applied to the artist’s narrative, the image of a figure on a cross suggests Haring’s own victory over death through his life’s work. The imagery ridicules the debate around AIDS in the late 80s which classified the disease as “divine punishment for indecent living,” and suggests that in spite of the artist’s malaise he overtakes the pathology which brings about his death. “Certainly, in view of actual violence, terror and disease portrayed in his other pictures, the inclusion of these symbols can, in a sense, be interpreted as cynical” (Alexandra Kolossa, Keith Haring, 1958-1990: A Life for Art, Los Angeles, 2004, p. 60). The cynicism of this work lies in the title, which suggests that the divine transformation that Haring desires may only take place in another’s unconscious mind. With his own mortality looming, Haring here seems to be reflecting on his own complex relationship with sexuality, disease, and the public versus private perceptions of the two.

Haring’s choice of color further underscores the tension between purity and corruption. In Christian iconography, yellow may be used as the color of light to represent divinity. Because yellow is not pure white, however, it may also be used to symbolize corruption and degradation (George Ferguson, Signs & Symbols in Christian Art, New York, 1954, p. 153). As the backdrop for Gil’s Dream, Haring plays with multiple meanings alluding to his insecurities about the ways his lover may perceive him. Outlined in red, which is both the color of blood from a martyred saint and the color most associated with romantic love, Haring mediates on his desire for Gil’s remembrance of love, life and many memories that give meaning after death. Quite literally, the red border frames the entrance into a work about Haring’s most personal ruminations and deliberations on his life.