
In 1980, he also moved towards figuration. These first experiments will lead to the creation of a distinctive style dominated by linearity, patterns, easily legible subject matters, a bright palette, and absolute freedom of expression.
#Retrospect hamilton ny series#
A series of drawings from 1978-1979, like Untitled (1978) and Untitled (1979) exemplifies Haring’s early interest in the exploration of abstract shapes interacting with vigorous, gestural markings within a carefully bordered space. He first experimented with a variety of media, producing performance pieces and painted environments in the technique of action painting.

In New York, he attended the School of Visual Arts, where he was exposed to the avant-garde propositions of the city’s vibrant artistic scene. He took up painting and drawing at an early age and moved to New York in 1978 in search for artistic inspiration, after dropping out of a commercial art school. Haring was born in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1958. Haring, indeed, sought inspiration for his artistic practice in the popular culture that surrounded him, from New York’s hip-hop scene to Disney's cartoons, and also engaged with the main social and political issues of his time, such as the AIDS epidemic, South African apartheid, and the American conservative politics of the 1890s. He gave his works a distinctively graphic, cartoonish quality and relied on repetitive motifs in creating a visual commentary of both his private experiences and the larger culture of his time. He used few basic colors in hyper-saturated hues, applied as flat areas of paint and shaped into thick silhouettes. Haring’s signature style is based on abstract, stylized forms worked into interlocking human figures and tightly arranged patterns. Haring produced monumental public works that contributed to bringing recognition to Street art and to its entrance into museums. His work run parallel to that of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf, and other 1980s artists and engages with a variety of media and techniques, such as drawing, painting, body art, graffiti. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this work.įramed to museum-grade, conservation standards, presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.Keith Haring is one of the key members of a group of avant-garde New York-based artists who helped to redefine the boundaries of Modern art in the 1980s. Keith Haring: Editions on Paper 1982-1990, The Complete Printed Works. This work is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work).ġ. Numbered from the edition of 75, this work was published by Martin Lawrence Editions Ltd., New York and features their blindstamp. Retrospect shows Haring’s skill in playing with color and line to create compelling designs that tackled important issues of race, sexuality and violence.Ĭreated in 1989, this slickscreen is hand-signed and dated by Keith Haring (Pennsylvania, 1958- New York, 1990) in pencil: ‘K Haring 89’. The overall work is an amalgamation of these twenty-four smaller compositions and gives the viewer a holistic perspective of Haring’s artistic oeuvre.

Each scene is filled with Haring’s iconic black line cartoon figures in various states of movement and interaction. The composition is made up of twenty-four rectangular boxes displaying intensely saturated colorful scenes. Aptly titled “Retrospect,” the print features references to Haring’s most recognizable motifs, including barking dogs, angels, radiant babies and dancing figures, that the artist used throughout his career.
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(117 cm x 208 cm) silkscreen print is bursting with iconic elements from his most famous works. Keith Haring’s Retrospect, 1989 is an incredible example of the artist’s creative genius.
