Celebrating Keith Haring’s creativity and activism, AGO welcomes a major exhibition, Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody, from November 8 , 2023 to March 17, 2024 . It’s the first exhibition of Haring’s work to be shown in Canada in more than 25 years. Reverberating with energy and love, the exhibition features more than 200 artworks and ephemera, including large-scale paintings on tarpaulin and canvas, sculptures, works on paper, videos, archival materials and representations of his famed subway drawings.
Keith Haring, Untitled, 1982. Baked enamel on metal, 109.2 × 109.2 cm. (Courtesy of The Broad Art Foundation © Keith Haring Foundation.)
Keith Haring, Ignorance=Fear, Silence=Death, 1989. ACT UP poster, 61 × 109.2 cm. (The Keith Haring Foundation © Keith Haring Foundation)
Keith Haring, Untitled, 1982. Enamel and Dayglo on metal, 182.9 × 228.6 × 3.8 cm. (Private collection © Keith Haring Foundation)
Keith Haring, Untitled, 1988, Acrylic on canvas, 304.8 cm diameter. (Courtesy The Keith Haring Foundation. © Keith Haring Foundation.)
Making its only Canadian stop at the AGO, Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody aims to give a palpable sense of Keith Haring the artist and person, taking Haring’s journals as a key source for reading his work. Beginning with early student artworks made while Haring was at the School of the Visual Arts in New York, the exhibition shows a young artist finding his voice, developing his artistic vocabulary and experimenting with mediums. A thread throughout is Haring’s activism, from his participation in anti-nuclear and anti-Apartheid demonstrations to his AIDS activism that is featured in the last gallery. The emphasis Haring placed on being in community is also highlighted, including his active social life and participation in the downtown club scene—spaces where he often incorporated his art; his collaborative practice working with other artists, musicians, dancers, and poets from diverse backgrounds; and his frequent work with children.
Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody opens to AGO Members on Wednesday, November 8, and to Annual Pass holders on Wednesday, November, 11. This exhibition is a benefit for the AGO community.
