Sat 4/15 @ 11AM-5PM
Keith Haring was one of a group of iconic artists who helped make New York the capital of visual arts in the 1980s.
Like fellow artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, his work was heavily informed by the city’s street scene & its graffiti art which gave both artists their start, but in a wholly different way. He blurred the line between fine art and commercial graphic art with his repeated line drawings that functioned as symbols. Similar to Andy Warhol, he enthusiastically embraced marketing, wanting to make his art accessible to all. Sadly, also like Basquiat, he died young, just a year and a half after his fellow artist: he passed away of AIDS at 31 in 1990. But his reputation and spread of his art has only grown since then.
So it’s a really big deal that the Akron Art Museum is opening an exhibit called Keith Haring: Against All Odds. It will feature 110 of his works, along with work by some of his fellow artists. It also includes a recreation of his legendary Pop Shop, which sold inexpensive items such as T-shirts, posters and buttons in order to make his art affordable and accessible. For an artist precociously rocketing to the top of the fine art scene, this was controversial.
On opening day, the museum will be offering guides tours, lawn games on the patio, DJ music and hands-on art-making. There’ll also be a conversation with curator Dr. Jeff Katzin with collector Tucker Hewes about Haring’s legendary drawing he made in the New York subways even while he was becoming a major art star. And there’ll be a cash bar to make it even more like a party. It’s free for members, $12 for non-members.
The Keith Haring show will be on view through September 24.
Akron, OH 44308