Pop Shop Quad V (Littman p.148-149) For Sale

Pop Shop V is a portfolio of four screenprints created by the artist in 1989, a series of separated works from a larger edition than Pop Shop Quad V. Titled after Haring’s shop of the same name in New York’s SoHo district, which opened in 1986, the portfolio showcases the artist's idiosyncratic visual alphabet. In each scene in the suite, Haring explores the relationship between humans, animals and the natural world with a spiritual undertone.  

Articulated in visually harmonious pinks and blues, the set merges land and sea in a playful allegory: a figure swims with, rides upon and walks on water with a dolphin.  It is a powerful proclamation of unity and cooperation between all creatures that even finds expression in physical features. Often the dolphin and person are swapped or inverted: in plate three, the person has a tail (an addition appears to be a hybrid angel) and in plate four, the dolphin has human legs. As highly sociable animals, dolphins are often seen as a symbol of intelligence and joy. Yet often used by Haring, especially in his earlier Subway Drawings, the dolphin has a distinctly spiritual meaning as evidenced by its angelic form. In Christianity, dolphins represent Jesus and his guidance: Haring was well-known for his Christian imagery and upbringing. 

The enduring appeal of the Pop Shop prints are their playful, vivid visual form and accessibility as a ‘snapshot’ of images. Haring said: ‘My shop is an extension of what I was doing in the subway stations, breaking down the barriers between high art and low art’. Though some of Haring’s motifs offer a multiplicity of meanings, viewing them at their simplest level is enough to still have thought-provoking impact.