Keith Haring: 1978-1982 Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum

Ongoing at the Brooklyn Museum is the first large-scale exhibition of Keith Haring, exploring the early career of one of the best-known American artists of the twentieth century. The playful exhibition traces the development of Haring’s extraordinary visual vocabulary from 1978-1982, and features 155 works on paper, numerous experimental videos, sketchbooks, journals, exhibition flyers, posters, subway drawings, and documentary photographs.

When Keith Haring moved to New York City, he started his studio practice and began making public and political art on the city streets. Immersing himself in New York’s downtown culture, he quickly became a fixture on the art scene, befriending other artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf, as well as many of the most innovative cultural figures of the period. The critical role that these relationships played in Haring’s development as a public artist and facilitator of group exhibitions and performances is also explored. Pieces on view include a number of very early works never before seen in public; seven video pieces, including Painting Myself into a Corner (his first video piece) and Tribute to Gloria Vanderbilt; and collages created from cut-up fragments of his own writing, history textbooks, and newspapers. The exhibition continues through through July 8, 2012. 


The museum is located at 200 Eastern Parkway at Prospect Park.