Keith Haring: 1978-1982

Exhibition
28/5 2010 — 19/9 2010
Museumsquartier / Halle2

The American artist Keith Haring ranks among the most popular in the world. Twenty years after his death, the Kunsthalle Wien’s solo exhibition offers the opportunity to discover his rarely shown early work, created between 1978 and 1982, when Haring left Pittsburgh for New York and began his ascent from art student to international Pop Art star. His move to New York and immersion in downtown culture informed and inspired his language as an artist, his private life, and his open homosexuality.

With its emphasis on works on paper, the show presents drawings and sketches, but also includes videos, flyers, posters, photographs and subway drawings, as well as word collages, texts, and diaries. It offers an impression of the artist’s manifold maturing process and shows Keith Haring as a philosopher and untiring initiator of political activities, performances
and group exhibitions, reflecting his collaboration with other artists.

Keith Haring, born in Reading, Pennsylvania on May 4, 1958, lived and worked in New York, where he died on February 16, 1990 of AIDSrelated complications.

Curated by Raphaela Platow (Director and Chief Curator of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati)
Supporting Curator at Kunsthalle Wien: Synne Genzmer

Guided tours: every Sunday 4 pm

The exhibition is a cooperation between the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati and the Kunsthalle Wien.