50 х 20 in. (127 x 50.8 cm.)
Signed, and dated by the artist on the back. Signed by the artist's photographer, Kwong Chi, on the sleeve.
The owner of this vintage leather jacket was sixteen years old when he cut school to meet his hero, Keith Haring, who was working on a mural in Chicago in 1989. Haring created this painting on the back of his leather jacket as an impromptu thank you gift for his help with the mural. The jacket has been in the owner’s possession for the past twenty five years. The drawing is full of the artist’s characteristic dynamic imagery and whimsy. Featuring scissors that resemble human forms cutting off a snake’s tail scissors, the image is full of life, fervor and clearly a passion for his work, his life, and his friendship with the jacket’s owner. Haring signed and dated the jacket as well, and Haring’s photographer, Kwong Chi, signed the sleeve. The artist died six months later in February of 1990 at the age of 31.
Keith Haring (1958-1990) gained international acclaim as not only a street artist and social activist but a major contributor to the Pop Art Movement. At the age of 19, Haring moved from his small hometown in Pennsylvania to New York City in order to attend the School of Visual Arts. The bustling city offered him the opportunity to experiment with street art, as is evidenced by his early chalk drawings throughout the underground subway system. Haring is known for his relationship to street culture of New York City throughout the 1980s, clearly reflected in his art along with consistent social undertones of life, unity, love, war, and sex. The bold lines, vivid colors, and active figures present in his drawings, paintings, and prints make a Haring work almost immediately identifiable. His iconic works have been displayed in institutions throughout the world, most recently with a major retrospective currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, NY (2012), as well as significant exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art (2012); and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA (2012).
Selected Public Collections:
The Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, CA)
The Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY)
Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY)
Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris, France)
Ludwig Museum (Cologne, Germany)
Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Geneva, Switzerland)
Museum of Contemporary Art (Jerusalem, Israel)
Museum of Modern Art (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Museum of Contemporary Art (Hiroshima, Japan)
Nakamura Keith Haring Collection (Kobuchizawa, Japan)
Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney, Australia)