Lot 83
  • 83

Keith Haring

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 USD
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Description

  • Keith Haring
  • Jerk Off (Juan Dubose)
  • signed and dated OCT. 14-81 on the reverse
  • sumi ink on paper
  • 38 1/2 by 50 in. 97.8 by 127 cm.

Provenance

Jock Truman and Eric Green, Miami
Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach
Christie's, New York, 22 July 2015, Lot 71 (consigned by the above)
Acquired from the above sale by the present owner

Condition

This work is in excellent condition overall. The sheet is hinged intermittently on the reverse to the backing board. The top and bottom edges of the sheet are deckled. Under very close inspection, there very minor surface soiling to the perimeter of the sheet. Framed under Plexiglas.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Keith Haring’s Jerk Off (Juan Dubose) is a rare, intimate portrait offering a glimpse into the artist’s personal life. Juan Dubose, the subject of the present work, was Haring’s long-time boyfriend and lover, who ultimately died of AIDS in 1988. Haring and Dubose had a passionate on-and-off relationship for five years that was predominantly driven by physical attraction. In Haring’s own words, “It’s probably one of my major faults that I pursue physical love with such obsession. It was always the first and foremost aspect that I took care of. I always felt that intellectual stimulation and companionship could be supplied by other people…For me, the physical part was so overpowering that I just let it lead me around in this really obsessive way.” (John Gruen, Keith Haring: The Authorized Biography, New York 1991, p. 139)

The desire that Haring felt for Dubose is evident in the present work, which is one of the most daringly honest and intimate portraits in Haring’s oeuvre. Haring created this portrait in 1981 at the beginning of his love affair with Dubose – a time of passion, excitement and discovery for the couple – well before the deterioration of their relationship, Haring’s infidelity and the devastating onset of the AIDS virus.

Signed and dated K. Haring OCT 14-81 on the reverse, this early work on paper is rendered in Haring's iconic sumi ink squiggles and framed with the artist's signature border, seen in numerous other unique works on paper from the same period. Across a stark white sheet, we witness a rare sense of naturalistic mimesis that still maintains the economy of line characteristic of the artist’s idiosyncratic visual lexicon. As such, Jerk Off (Juan Dubose) offers a unique invitation to a moment of self-reflection, which is intrinsically bound to an enshrinement of the vitality of life. Synergizing the tabulated code of graffiti, Haring positioned himself as the artist-provocateur, responsible for speaking out against inequity, warning against oppression, and connecting with a public audience on issues such as AIDS, racism, mass-media, ecological preservation and nuclear technology. Having grown up in the 1960s as part of a generation exposed to counterculture, the Vietnam War and race riots, Haring cultivated a self-proclaimed social consciousness that inevitably seeped into the fabric of his art.