1985
Keith Haring began experimenting with his bold, graphic lines and cartoon-inspired figures on the walls of New York City subway stations in the early 1980s. He called them his “laboratory,” places to develop a radical new aesthetic based on an ideology of creating truly democratic public art.
Haring’s paintings, prints and murals address the universal themes of death, love and sex, as well as contemporary issues he experienced personally, like the crack-cocaine and AIDS epidemics. They derive much of their impact from the powerful contrast between these serious subjects and the joyful, vibrant pictographic language he uses to express them, full of dancing figures, babies, barking dogs, hearts and rhythmic lines, as well as references to pop culture.
To make his art even more accessible, in 1986, Haring opened the Pop Shop in Soho. In a foreshadowing of today’s intermingling of art and fashion, the shop sold merchandise and novelty items featuring imagery by Haring and contemporaries like Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat. While his works sometimes included text, for the most part, he chose to communicate through drawing.
“Drawing is still basically the same as it has been since prehistoric times,” Haring once declared. “It lives through magic.”
Find Keith Haring art on 1stDibs today.
Keith Haring Rain Dance 1985 (Keith Haring posters)
By Keith Haring
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Keith Haring Rain Dance 1985: RARE original 1980s Keith Haring illustrated poster announcement for a Keith Haring UNICEF benefit party at Larry Levan’s legendary Paradise Garage...
Offset, Lithograph
Keith Haring Rain Dance 1985 (Keith Haring UNICEF benefit poster)
By Keith Haring
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Rain Dance: A Benefit for the African Emergency Relief Fund, 1985: Rare original 1980s Keith Haring & Jean-Michel Basquiat illustrated poster published on the occasion of a UNICEF benefit exhibition at 292 Lafayette Street (February 2-23 1985) & benefit party at Larry Levan’s legendary Paradise Garage (January 30, 1985). Organized & curated by Keith Haring on behalf of UNICEF’s African Emergency Relief Fund. Medium: Offset lithograph in colors on smooth wove paper. 1985. Dimensions: 22.5 x 30.5 inches. Very good overall vintage condition. Well-preserved. Featuring printed signatures by hosts: Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, & Yoko Ono. From an edition of unknown. Scarce. Literature / References: Keith Haring: Posters (Jürgen and Osten). More on Keith Haring Rain Dance: Curated and organized by Keith Haring, Rain Dance was a 1985 benefit for UNICEF’s African Emergency Relief Fund. Participating artists famously included: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Larry Levan, Fred Brathwaite, Christo, Francesco Clemente, George Condo, Crash, Futura 2000, Jenny Holzer, John Lennon, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Mapplethorpe, Brice Marden, Robert Morris, Yoko Ono, Lee Quiñones, Robert Rauschenberg, Kenny Scharf, Julian Schnabel, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Tseng Kwong Chi, and Andy Warhol. Related Categories: Keith Haring figurative drawings. Keith Haring activist posters. Keith Haring Dancers. Street art. Graffiti. 1980s. Keith Haring Larry Levan. Keith Haring Paradise...
Lithograph, Offset
Keith Haring Drawings poster 1982 (Keith Haring Tony Shafrazi gallery 1982)
By Keith Haring
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Keith Haring Tony Shafrazi Gallery 1982: The much historic early Keith Haring exhibition poster, illustrated by Haring on the occasion of: 'Keith Haring Drawings' Oct. 9 - Nov. 13 - ...
Lithograph, Offset
Keith Haring Dance on the Lower East Side (announcement)
By Keith Haring
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Keith Haring Dance on the Lower East Side: Fold-out invitation designed & illustrated by Haring for a opening night benefit party at The Underground, New York, NY 1983; in conjunctio...
Offset
Keith Haring Act Up 1989 mailer (Keith Haring activist)
By Keith Haring
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Keith Haring ACT UP 1989: RARE 1989 Keith Haring illustrated mailer used as promotional material for the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Keith Haring designed & authored ...
Paper, Offset
Keith Haring Paul Maenz 1984 (announcement)
By Keith Haring
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Keith Haring Galerie Paul Maenz, Cologne, Germany 1984: Super rare, tri-fold poster booklet published to announce Haring’s 1984 solo exhibition at Paul Maenz Gallery in Cologne (Hari...
Lithograph, Offset
Growing 2 Screen Print by Keith Haring, Abstract Expressionist, 1988
By Keith Haring
Located in New York, NY
Keith Haring Growing (Plate 2), is the second installment of the artist’s Growing portfolio of 1988. This silkscreen has a background of bright yellow and depicts around six teal fig...
Screen
Keith Haring Pop Shop II Screen Print, 1988, New Wave Style
By Keith Haring
Located in New York, NY
Keith Haring Pop Shop II (Littmann 97) is the third print in the artist's Pop Shop II portfolio of 1988. This series of prints was a continuation on the "Pop Shop" portfolios which e...
Screen
Untitled, from Three Lithographs by Keith Haring, Signed, Edition 59/80, 1985
By Keith Haring
Located in Aventura, FL
Lithograph in black and red, on BFK Rives paper. Hand signed and dated lower right by Keith Haring. Hand numbered 59/80 lower right (there were also twenty artist's proofs). Sheet...
Paper, Lithograph
Playboy, Silkscreen Poster by Keith Haring 1990
By Keith Haring
Located in Long Island City, NY
A limited edition silkscreen poster Keith Haring designed for Playboy. This limited edition run of 1000 was published in 1990 by Special Editions Ltd. The signature and date 'KH 86' ...
Screen
Pop Shop I Screen Print, Keith Haring, 1987, Signed, 1980s
By Keith Haring
Located in New York, NY
Keith Haring Pop Shop I (Littmann PP. 83), is the fourth and final print in the artist’s Pop Shop I portfolio of 1987. This silkscreen depicts two figures, one purple figure holding ...
Screen
Growing 1 Screen Print by Keith Haring, 1980s, New Wave Style, Signed
By Keith Haring
Located in New York, NY
One of the most prolific pop and graffiti artists of all time, Haring is a symbol of creativity, love and joy in the face of hardship. Starting as a guerrilla artist in the subways o...
Screen
