Haring altered letters and words to create a language of his own. The graphic drawings that he created morphed into the symbols that are the instantly recognizable as pure Keith Haring artwork.
Keith Haring’s work is being shown this month at an exhibit at the Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, Germany and at a Sotheby’s exhibit in Hong Kong. The market for Haring’s work, especially among young Asian collectors, has always been good, and just keeps growing. The Haring artwork, for sale at Vertu, reflects the playfulness and intricacy of all Haring’s work.
While studying at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Haring took classes in semiotics, the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. As Haring’s work, and Haring himself, matured, along with the influence of the New York art scene, Haring’s work became more intricate and more political.
Babies represent the possibility of the future, the understanding of perfection, how perfect we could be. There is nothing negative about a baby, ever ... The reason that the "baby" has become my logo or signature is that it is the purest and most positive experience of human existence."
In 1982, Haring created the Poster for Nuclear Disarmament, for sale at Vertu, which features his signature Radiant Baby in a mushroom cloud. "Babies represent the possibility of the future,” Haring said, “the understanding of perfection, how perfect we could be. There is nothing negative about a baby, ever ... The reason that the "baby" has become my logo or signature is that it is the purest and most positive experience of human existence."
Along with his political and charitable activities, Haring wanted to make art accessible to a wide public. In 1998, two years before his death, Haring established a foundation to continue his philanthropic work. “No matter how long you work,” Haring said, “it’s always going to end sometime. And there’s always going to be things left undone. And it wouldn’t matter if you lived until you were seventy-five. There would still be new ideas. There would still be things that you wished you would have accomplished. You could work for several lifetimes….Part of the reason that I’m not having trouble facing the reality of death is that it’s not a limitation, in a way. It could have happened any time, and it is going to happen sometime. If you live your life according to that, death is irrelevant. Everything I’m doing right now is exactly what I want to do.”
The Keith Haring Foundation continues Haring’s legacy by protecting his work and supporting educational opportunities to underprivileged chilled and organizations that promote HIV/AIDS education.
Haring’s estate worked with Villeroy & Boch, a German company that has been making ceramics for nearly three hundred years, to create ceramics that reflect Haring’s distinctive work.
A Piece of Art, a 22-piece ceramic serving set, was created in limited edition in 1991. The set is for sale at Vertu, and comes with its original box.
Spirit of Art No. 2 was also created by Villeroy & Boch, in limited edition, and is available at Vertu. Please contact us if you are interested in the works of Keith Haring or the artwork of the many other fine artists whose work is displayed in our gallery.
