Keith Haring

Galerie 121, Antwerp
Private Collection, Brussels
Sotheby's, New York, November 12, 2008, lot 590
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

This work is in very good condition. The sheet is hinged intermittently on the reverse to the backing board. There is pale time-staining to the sheet. There are small areas of minute abrasions and a couple unobtrusive punctures in the sheet evident in the lower ¼ of the composition. There are a few stray marks in the upper left and right quadrants. 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.

Keith Haring’s unique style, defined by his iconic hard-edged line, is instantly recognizable. Untitled, dated November 15, 1989, exudes an energy and vigor that belied his present struggle with AIDS.  As if in ritualistic dance, the jubilance that radiates from his scene procession, the dancing “birdmen” with arms raised to the sky toward a speeding airplane, forms an endearingly surreal and intensely rhythmical pictorial schema. Invigorated by the spontaneity afforded by paper, as opposed to expensive canvas, as a medium, Haring lays down a crackling image infused with the opposing tensions created by life and death.

Haring’s beginnings as a graffiti artist in New York gave way to the iconography for which he became famous. The Artforum review of his debut show at Tony Shafrazi declared that, “The character of habitual strength, speed and readability in Haring’s work has already been an important contribution to contemporary graphics and the art of drawing” (Edit de Ak and Lisa Liebmann, “Keith Haring: Tony Shafrazi Gallery,” Artforum, January 1983). After more than thirty years this statement is even more resonant as Haring remains one of the most iconic artistic figures of the twentieth-century.    

It was in the early 1980s with his subway drawings that Haring was catapulted into the limelight as a street artist in New York; ultimately, he would bring the street into the gallery. His notoriety as a graffiti artist led to his first solo exhibition at Westbeth Painters Space in 1981, followed by his show with Tony Shafrazi in 1982. His subsequent inclusion in prestigious exhibitions such as the Whitney Biennial and Documenta 7 are to name but a handful of the solo and group exhibitions he was included in during his lifetime; a total that would exceed over 100 by the time he died in February of 1990.   

Art historian and curator Barry Blinderman said of Haring, “Keith invented an image-vocabulary which simultaneously captures the mysteries of ancient ritual and the obsessions of high-tech society.  He was a rare modern believer in the magic of graven images, and made a convincing case for mythology’s relevance in the post-Christian era. Writer Brion Gysin referred to Keith’s mark as a “carved line,” a line you could “feel in the dark” like those in the ancient cave drawings of Altimira.  Straight from the mind and soul to the wall or paper.  Liquid, seamless, with no more chance of error than a bird in flight” (Blinderman in Exh. Cat., University Galleries, Illinois State University (and travelling), Keith Haring: Future Primeval, 1990, p. 11). His body of work is replete with paradoxical themes, including life and death, religion and sexuality, innocence and experience, heaven and hell, good and evil.  For Haring, the balance between light and heavy, playful and serious was intrinsic to his art and to his life.