Keith Haring

In 1990, Malmö Konsthall presented a retrospective exhibition of works by Keith Haring, offering a comprehensive overview of his artistic practice. Keith Haring was one of the major innovators of visual art leading into the 1990s. During his intense, nearly decade-long career, he challenged and transformed the general perception of what art could be, while also expanding the established boundaries of artistic creation itself. With roots in both Walt Disney and street graffiti, he developed his own cartoon-like figures into worldly icons and his striking ornamentation into a unique symbolic language. Through his phenomenal technique and boundless receptiveness, he transformed decorative elements from across the globe into integral parts of his art.

The exhibition at Malmö Konsthall presented a selection of Keith Haring’s rich and significant body of work, ranging from his earliest chalk drawings in the New York subway to large paintings, sculptures, and wall panels. The exhibition was produced by Malmö Konsthall in collaboration with Castello di Rivoli in Turin and Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, and it was the most comprehensive presentation of his work to date.

Keith Haring was only 31 years old when he passed away from complications related to AIDS in February 1990. He was, in every sense, a child of the times and a great talent who willingly allowed himself to be exploited. He enthusiastically participated in New York’s bustling nightlife but also traveled the world to join young people in their protests, often serving as a unifying and inspiring force with his gigantic murals on building facades and walls: against drugs, environmental destruction, racism, greed, and ignorance, or in favor of a global human perspective and “safe sex.” Around his activities and from his imaginative patterns, a whole market of products emerged, which he called the “Pop Shop” and which today must be seen as a logical consequence and integral part of his art.