Keith Haring The Labyrinth (Littman p.113) For Sale

The Labryrinth is a lithograph created by the artist in 1989. Aptly named, the print exemplifies Keith Haring’s quasi-tribal formations of the eighties seen in acclaimed works such as his collaboration with Grace Jones. The white concentric circles and rectangle shapes are visually striking against a white background. 

Haring is often recognised for his figurative pictures, in which people dance, jump and wave. Yet an important strand of his practice, shown here, is his capacity for dynamism and movement in pure line, often rejecting traditional figuration. Haring’s rhythmic patterns evoke non-Western art forms. Often described as hieroglyphic and rune-like, the structures in Haring’s tableaus stacked on top of each other are alluring and confusing in equal measure.   

Whilst the work is titled The Labyrinth for its appearance, the labryrinth as a concept is rooted in Greek mythology: it is a structure, a kind of maze, designed to prevent the Minatour from escaping by disorienting it. Haring has honoured the labyrinth’s maze form whilst filling it with a visual style borrowed from many cultures, creating a work of true abstraction. As put by Haring himself: ‘The drawings I do have very little to do with classical, post-renaissance drawings, where you try to imitate life or make it appear to be life-like. My drawings don’t try to imitate life; they try to create life, to invent life.’