ROME Until the 28th.II.2001 Keith Haring Chiostro del Bramante

Haring’s art has come to be, in these last years, a real “mass phenomenon”: his essential and symbolic style becomes in fact a universal language, involving all social classes. His works are spreading through art galleries and museums, but also city walls, t-shirts and mugs.
That’s true, museum’s merchandising has made us used to unlikely objects: Mondrian’s neckerchieves or Renoir’s ties… But in Haring’s case it is different: the artist himself wanted to spread his works in different contexts, and make of art a “democratic” activity: he often said that “art is not an activity for elites, art is for everybody”. In fact, he started his career painting on panels left unused in New York’s underground, and wanted to keep his art “democratic” until his early death: he died in 1990 because of Aids. His style is a mixture between the “Graffiti Art”, which was so important in the USA in the Eighties, and the Informal Art, under the influence of Pollock and Dubuffet, from whom he derives his interest for primitive and tribal art. An artist who greatly influenced Haring is also Wharol: the two in fact kept in contact for a long time.Haring represents themes of universal interest: religion, racism, sex, joy of living; his art is very “fast” and immediate, the intense use of blue, yellow and red gives a sense of energy.
This large exposition puts on display many works, landed by numerous galleries and museums and also by Keith Haring’s foundation. Unfortunately, there are no panels in English to permit the foreigners to appreciate better the exposition. From the 5th of January eight big sculptures will be laced in eight historic squares in Rome, so that the exposition will flood the city.

English version by Simona Piselli