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Keith Haring in Europe

American artist and prominent social activist Keith Haring

Abstract artwork featuring three yellow humanoid figures with dog-like heads outlined in red against a background of red and yellow patterns.

Which artworks by Keith Haring can be found in Europe?

by
Europeana Foundation

'I'd like to pretend that I've never seen anything, never read anything, never heard anything... and then make something...' - Keith Haring

Renowned American artist and prominent social activist Keith Haring was born on May 4 1958.

black and white portrait photograph of Keith Haring.
A stylized black-and-white illustration of Keith Haring's head merged with a cat's body.

As the son of an amateur cartoonist, from an early age, Keith Haring was interested in visual art.

He moved to New York City at the age of 19 and first drew public attention with chalk drawings in the subways of the city.

Artworks with bold lines, vivid colours and active figures soon became his signature style.

A red, dog-like figure holds a green human figure while another green figure appears to under its foot.
Abstract artwork with large red figure bending over, with four smaller green figures above it.
A round badge with a red figure on all fours, surrounded by black lines on a white background.
Abstract artwork featuring three yellow humanoid figures with dog-like heads outlined in red against a background of red and yellow patterns.

Through the 1980s, Haring's artistic career grew with many projects around the world, including Europe.

His first international art show came in 1982, featuring in documenta, an exhibition for contemporary art taking place every five years in Kassel, Germany.

In spring 1986, Keith Haring's first solo museum exhibition took place at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Colourful Keith Haring artwork from 1986 featuring a red figure holding a green fish above its head, surrounded by vibrant patterns. Exhibition details at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam below.

Haring designed and painted murals for museums in, amongst others, Bordeaux, Amsterdam and Berlin. He created a mural for the Necker Children's Hospital in Paris, as well as many others in public spaces across Europe.

Tall building with a colourful abstract mural, featuring red, blue, yellow shapes and lines.
Colourful abstract mural with human and animal figures covering the wall of a building, with a tower and rooftops in the background.
Large mural on brick wall featuring stylized figures, a small human sits on the back of a large creature with two eyes and a long tail.
A mural with red outlines of human figures and text on a concrete wall.

Haring was gay, with his work often reflecting socio-political themes.

After being diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, he established the Keith Haring Foundation.

Its mandate was to provide funding and imagery to AIDS organisations by growing the audience and market for his artworks through exhibitions, publications and the licensing of his images.

Black short-sleeved sweater with orange Keith Haring graphics.
Model on a runway wearing a pink and black patterned outfit.

Haring enlisted his imagery during the last years of his life, until his death on February 16 1990, to speak about his own illness and generate activism and awareness about AIDS.

Poster for Walk for Life in Edmonton, October 4, 1992 with an illustration of yellow figures with red hearts, grass, trees and the sun in the background.
Red poster with text in German featuring a stylized drawing of three dancing figures with a heart.
A green poster with scissors cutting a snake illustration, reading STOP AIDS.

 

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