Keith Haring
: Art is Life. Life is Art.
Nov. 24. 2018 - Mar. 17. 2019
DDP (Dongdaemun Design Plaza) – Design Exhibition Hall
This exhibition presents 175 works of Keith Haring, a world-renowned American Pop artist. A special occasion to discover the message he wanted to share with all of us with the hope to change the world through art.
KEITH HARING
"Art is Life. Life is Art."
Keith Haring, a world-renowned Pop artist, wanted to communicate with the world through art, and build connections with his symbolic bold lines. Although Haring died at a young age, his great artworks still resonate with us today.
Haring who was recognized as mischief in the art world always questioned the exclusivity of art. He took his first step in breaking the 'exclusivity of art' by drawing the <Subway Drawing> series on the empty subway advertisement billboards with chalk. Avoiding the eyes of the police officers and station staff, Keith Haring drew the Radiant Baby with only simple lines, which was his statement to the world to announce the start of the “Art for everybody”. Haring pushed his artistic ideals further as he rose to stardom. Breaking from his subway drawings, he provided higher accessibility of his artworks for the public through working on posters and music album cover designs. His variety of projects started to emerge in clubs as well.
In 1998, Keith Haring was diagnosed with AIDS. However, the news of his illness was not an end but another beginning. He started to expand his previously built art world. Fear of facing death at any moment turned to passion for new art, a universally accepted art. Birth, life, death and reflections of daily life were made into artworks. Keith Haring preached the value of life and love through pop culture that overwhelmed and dominated society during his time. His short life of 31 years failed to stop his continuous efforts to pursue his dreams and this will be witnessed in this Keith Haring exhibition. Keith Haring’s eternal Love will resonate and echo, together with the Barking Dog and the Radiant Baby that illuminates a light in this world.
Haring who was recognized as mischief in the art world always questioned the exclusivity of art. He took his first step in breaking the 'exclusivity of art' by drawing the <Subway Drawing> series on the empty subway advertisement billboards with chalk. Avoiding the eyes of the police officers and station staff, Keith Haring drew the Radiant Baby with only simple lines, which was his statement to the world to announce the start of the “Art for everybody”. Haring pushed his artistic ideals further as he rose to stardom. Breaking from his subway drawings, he provided higher accessibility of his artworks for the public through working on posters and music album cover designs. His variety of projects started to emerge in clubs as well.
In 1998, Keith Haring was diagnosed with AIDS. However, the news of his illness was not an end but another beginning. He started to expand his previously built art world. Fear of facing death at any moment turned to passion for new art, a universally accepted art. Birth, life, death and reflections of daily life were made into artworks. Keith Haring preached the value of life and love through pop culture that overwhelmed and dominated society during his time. His short life of 31 years failed to stop his continuous efforts to pursue his dreams and this will be witnessed in this Keith Haring exhibition. Keith Haring’s eternal Love will resonate and echo, together with the Barking Dog and the Radiant Baby that illuminates a light in this world.
The show will showcase a spectrum of Keith Haring’s artworks inclusive of the earlier works to those he created before his death. A total of 175 pieces of artwork including paintings, drawings, sculptures, album art, and posters, all produced by Keith Haring for a brief period of 10 years, will be displayed in 8 sections. Photographs of Keith Haring working, related videos and collaboration products will also be displayed.
Composition
- The Begining: The subway drawing that was the beginning of his eminence helped realize this consuming desire to connect with other people
- Story Telling: Creation of many images that are relevant to everyone; explore the creative possibilities of using language to interpret art
- Transcendence: Fluorescent colour paint that would glow under black light meets the New York club culture of '80s. we can discover the psychedelic effects his images could give
- Message and Music: AIDS prevention, gay rights, apartheid, racism, drug use, wars, violence and environmental protection were the issues that Haring cared about the most and he used posters to bring them to public attention.
- Symbols and Icons: Works touching on topics that are relevant to youth, in the 80’s and even today’s SNS generation, love, life, death, pop culture and politics
- Uncovering the Dystopia: In Haring’s collaboration with beat writer William Burroughs, he pursues sinister themes in surreal landscapes
- Primaeval Energy: Mysterious powers hidden by non-Western art like the Aztecs, the Eskimo, African and Afro-American art or mythic ancient symbols present in Haring's works
- The End of The Beginning: A portfolio of 17 silk screens that duplicates a group of his earliest and purest visual narratives. He combined symbols and scenes into the comic strips to depict the dark sides of our society.
Information
- Dates
- November 24, 2018 – March 17, 2019
- No closed day
- Location
- DDP | Dongdaemun Design Plaza Museum B2F Design Exhibition Hall (M1 Gate)
- Hours
- 10:00 ~ 20:00
- 1-hour extension on Culture Wednesday; until 21:00
- Last entry and ticket sales: 19:00
- Ticket price
- ₩13,000 for Adults, ₩11,000 for Adolescents, ₩9,000 for Children
- Docent Tours
- 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00 (4 slots)
- Only on Weekdays
- Hosts
- The Keith Haring Foundation, The Nakamura Keith Haring Collection, Seoul Design Foundation, GNC Media
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- +82 02 325 1077(8)
- gnc@gncmedia.com