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Lot Essay
Keith Haring's extraordinarily large-scale canvas marks an animated and energetic return to his roots as a guerilla artist. Untitled is jostling with Haring's characteristic animated lines that cascade and tumble across the canvas. Thick outlines of red and blue dance across the surface with energy and precision, separated by a series of thinner black lines resembling an ancient forgotten language. The energy in each individual brushstroke can be seen in the pools of paint that have formed at the end of each stroke, as Haring pauses his brush just long enough for it to change direction. Haring's method of composition is equally as frenetic as its execution. This seemingly random series of lines and symbols is constructed with great speed and exactitude, often in one attempt and with scant regard for contemplated consideration. But despite the speed at which they are executed, Haring is a master of composition, born, in part, out of his roots as a graffiti artist and his constant fear of run-ins with New York's notorious police department. His composition abilities were appreciated by his peers, including the Pop master, Roy Lichtenstein, "Keith composes in an amazing way. I mean, it's as if he dashes the painting off - which he does in a way - but it takes enormous skill to make works that become whole paintings. They're not just arbitrary writings. He really has a terrific eye! And he doesn't go back and correct - this is in itself amazing - and his compositions are of a very high level." (R. Lichtenstein, quoted in J. Gruen, Keith Haring. The Authorized Biography, New York 1991, p. 124)
Haring's roots as a subway artist lie at the very heart of this work. His characteristically distinct style arose out of the boundless energy that he experienced on the streets of New York. The swooping lines and energetic swirls are the physical manifestation of what Haring saw on the streets of New York. Like his fellow generation of street artists, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Haring took his inspiration from his environment and, turning his back on art-school training, he made a virtue of his emersion in the Manhattan street scene of the 1980s. The insightful members of New York's art establishment were quick to recognise his talent, as galleryowner Jeffrey Deitch noted, "The reason Keith Haring is such a great artist is that his art does not rely on the whole art-historical tradition and issues that art critics toss about as a framework. It's an art that's free and direct. A lot of artist's today are steeped in all this heavy criticism and philosophy - and they're looking to the luminaries of the previous generation, trying to come up with a formula that has all the intellectual support that's needed. The point is that most of what you see downtown is hopelessly constrained by academicism. Keith just broke through all that." (J. Deitch, quoted in J. Gruen, Keith Haring. The Authorized Biography, New York 1991, p. 125)
Haring's roots as a subway artist lie at the very heart of this work. His characteristically distinct style arose out of the boundless energy that he experienced on the streets of New York. The swooping lines and energetic swirls are the physical manifestation of what Haring saw on the streets of New York. Like his fellow generation of street artists, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Haring took his inspiration from his environment and, turning his back on art-school training, he made a virtue of his emersion in the Manhattan street scene of the 1980s. The insightful members of New York's art establishment were quick to recognise his talent, as galleryowner Jeffrey Deitch noted, "The reason Keith Haring is such a great artist is that his art does not rely on the whole art-historical tradition and issues that art critics toss about as a framework. It's an art that's free and direct. A lot of artist's today are steeped in all this heavy criticism and philosophy - and they're looking to the luminaries of the previous generation, trying to come up with a formula that has all the intellectual support that's needed. The point is that most of what you see downtown is hopelessly constrained by academicism. Keith just broke through all that." (J. Deitch, quoted in J. Gruen, Keith Haring. The Authorized Biography, New York 1991, p. 125)