Keith Haring
The present two lots are beautiful examples of Keith Haring’s genius and dexterity as an artist. The early 1980s are the most sought after years of Keith Haring’s tragically short and intense career. Starting at an early age when his father made him sketches of characters from comic strips through his graffiti days in the New York subway, Haring invented his own alphabet of contemporary artistic language. Under the influence of Andy Warhol and contemporary to Jean-Michel Basquiat, Haring believed that art was a product of the individual and the ultimate expression of individuality. He chose the public realm for his art out of curiosity and an embrace of his temperament as well as his generosity. Enjoying success at a very young age, his philosophy was an idea of universal art strongly influenced by the aesthetics of decoration and eighties post-modernism.
1983
Created with sumi ink and acrylic on found hide, this work exemplifies Keith Haring's mastery of bold, gestural line work and his ability to transform unconventional surfaces into dynamic canvases. Rooted in his early graffiti days and shaped by the vibrant New York art scene of the early 1980s, Haring's signature visual language of energetic figures and symbols pulses with raw immediacy. The organic texture of the hide surface adds a primal, tactile dimension to Haring's iconic aesthetic, bridging his democratic vision of universal art with a deeply personal artistic expression.
- Medium
- Sumi ink and acrylic on found hide
- Spotted At
- Auction House · Phillips
🔨 Auction Lot
20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale
November 17, 2016
Collectors of Keith Haring
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