Keith Haring was born on May 4, 1958, in Reading, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Kutztown. He first developed an early passion for drawing. He was fueled by the cartoons of Walt Disney and Dr. Seuss, and by his father’s comics. After a brief stint at a commercial art school in Pittsburgh, he moved to New York in 1978. He then enrolled at the School of Visual Arts.
The city became his studio. He frequented Club 57 and the Mudd Club, and befriended Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Visual art, music, performance and graffiti converged there. From 1980 onwards, he took over the empty black advertising panels in the subway. In white chalk, he drew hundreds of images there. Thus, thousands of commuters saw them every day. These subway drawings made him a popular artist in the fullest sense.
Within a few years his vocabulary was established: the radiant baby, the barking dog, flying saucers, dancing figures. With a continuous line, Haring invented a universal, instantly legible language. Yet he used it to address serious subjects. Birth and death, sexuality, technology, racism and capitalism run through his work. The AIDS epidemic soon joined them.
In 1982, two events established him: his major solo exhibition at Tony Shafrazi Gallery and documenta 7 in Kassel. From then on he produced exhibitions and murals around the world. Later, he painted on the Berlin Wall in 1986, and the Tuttomondo mural in Pisa in 1989. Meanwhile, he created many works with children.
For Haring, art should be accessible to all. In 1986, he opened the Pop Shop in New York, then in Tokyo in 1988. It sold posters, T-shirts and objects at low prices. That same year, his Crack is Wack mural in Harlem left a lasting mark. Diagnosed in 1988, he became a public voice in the fight against AIDS. In 1989, he created the Keith Haring Foundation. It still supports programs for children and for prevention today.
He died in New York on February 16, 1990, at the age of 31. His work is held in the world’s leading public collections. It has also been the subject of numerous retrospectives, including at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 2013.
In 2021, Galerie Enrico Navarra organized Keith Haring at the Citadelle de Saint-Tropez. The exhibition brought together seven sculptures, six of them monumental, and the immersive Pop Shop Tokyo installation. In 2024, the gallery presented Techno-Primitive Iconography at Galerie 75 Faubourg and Galerie Gradiva. More than seventy works were gathered: masks, sculptures, paintings, objects and ceramics. They revealed the dialogue he established between ritual and the technological world.
Following Résonance, Jean-Michel Basquiat & l’Univers Kongo, Galerie Enrico Navarra presents Keith Haring, Techno-Primitive Iconography, from October 16 to December 14, 2024 at Galerie Gradiva and Galerie 75 Faubourg. The exhibition features a selection of over 70 works, including masks, sculptures, paintings, objects, and terracottas, illustrating the unique dialogue the artist establishes between ritual and the technological world.
7 sculptures including 6 monumental ones and the Pop Shop Tokyo which is an immersive experience in an original work by the artist... Here is what the city of Saint-Tropez and Galerie Enrico Navarra offer you to see and experience during this exhibition. This exceptionally high-quality event has received the benevolent approval of the representatives of the Keith Haring Foundation and most of the assembled works come from private collections or international galleries. While all of the sculptures have been exhibited before, the opportunity to admire them in such a context will make your journey and appreciation both unparalleled and unprecedented.
Sign up for our newsletter
Contact us
Publisher: Doriano Navarra
Site hosted by: Scaleway – Headquarters: 8 rue de la Ville l’Evêque, 75008 Paris
In accordance with Law No. 78-17 of January 6, 1978, known as «Data Protection and Civil Liberties,» you have the right to access, modify, rectify, and delete your personal data. You may exercise this right by submitting a simple request by mail to Galerie Enrico Navarra – 75, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 75008 Paris – France or by email to presse@enriconavarra.com.
If you wish to ask us questions regarding our privacy policy or the use of your personal data, you can contact us at press@enriconavarra.com.
By browsing our site, you are informed and agree that your personal data may be collected on the site and used by it, which acts as data controller within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (hereinafter referred to as the «General Data Protection Regulation» or «GDPR»).
We are committed to protecting and ensuring the security and confidentiality of your personal data in accordance with the GDPR, including by taking all necessary precautions to prevent this data from being distorted, damaged, or accessed by unauthorized third parties.
The elements present on this site (logos, texts, photos) are the exclusive property of Galerie Enrico Navarra. Any use, reproduction, or modification, even partial, of these elements without the agreement of Galerie Enrico Navarra is prohibited.
The information collected during your visit to the site is exclusively intended for internal use and will not be communicated to third parties for commercial purposes, except with your authorization.
This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. («Google»). Google Analytics uses cookies, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site.
The data generated by cookies about your use of the site (including your IP address) will be transmitted and stored by Google on servers located in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the site, compiling reports on site activity for its editor, and providing other services relating to site activity and internet usage.
Google may share this data with third parties if legally required or if the third parties process this data on behalf of Google, including, but not limited to, the publisher of this site. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.
You can disable the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings in your browser. However, doing so may prevent the use of certain features of this site. By using this website, you expressly consent to the processing of your personal data by Google under the conditions and for the purposes described above.
