POSTPONED INDEFINITELY
Keith Haring
Urban Legend
Carmichael Gallery
5795 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
Opening Reception: Saturday May 8, 2010
In May 2010, Carmichael Gallery will present “Keith Haring – Urban Legend”, a selection of original works by world-renowned American artist Keith Haring. On display in the gallery’s rooms will be over 20 original works on canvas, paper, vintage street signs and a rare vinyl blow up “Radiant Baby Doll” from Haring’s 27th birthday party in 1985.
There will be an opening reception for the exhibition on Saturday, May 8 from 7 to 10pm. The exhibition will run through May 29.
Keith Haring is recognized as one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century. Emerging in the Soho alternative art scene and rising to international fame in the mid-1980s, he is associated today with artists such as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. His large, remarkably cohesive body of work, which spans just over a decade, is distinguished by iconic, bold figures and an expressive, socially-informed aesthetic, the effortless fluidity and accessible nature of which encompass elements from and bridge the gap between subversive and mainstream contemporary art.
Haring is also widely acknowledged as one of the most fundamental figures in the history of street, graffiti, pop and urban art, and as such, requires little introduction to followers of these movements. While his gallery work continues to grow in stature in the contemporary art marketplace, both it and the documentation of his pieces in subways and on the streets of New York City persistently inspire generation after generation of artists around the world.
Born in Pennsylvania in 1958, Haring first gained attention when he moved to New York City in the late 1970s and began to produce chalk drawings throughout the subways, experimenting with public space alongside the early graffiti writers of his time. As more and more of his black, white and brightly colored people, animals and flying saucers, which drew from pop art-influenced advertising imagery and provided an alert social commentary, collected in the streets and subways, his career expanded to drawings, canvases, sculptures and commissioned murals in galleries, museums and international biennials, as well as t-shirts, posters and buttons. A unique visual language quickly emerged in everything he created that is now internationally recognized.
Haring was also acclaimed as a social activist; his art celebrates life and unity in its contemplation of birth, death, love, sex and war. His vibrant, dynamic and “radiant” human figures are timeless in their ability to communicate human collectivity and have raised awareness for previously taboo issues such as the AIDS epidemic, racial segregation, homosexuality and drug addiction.
Since Haring’s death in 1990 at the age of 31, his work has steadily grown in significance and his spirit can be felt in the work and vision of many of today’s street, graffiti and urban artists.
As one of the world’s leading contemporary urban art galleries, Carmichael Gallery is proud to mount an exhibition of works by this legendary artist in honor of the 20th anniversary of his passing.
The gallery is still accepting submissions for consignment from collectors.
