Keith Haring Untitled (Yellow) 1986 For Sale

Untitled is a lithograph created in 1986. Vivid and dynamic, Haring’s signature flat lines and bold colours are in full force in portraying a chaotic scene replete with several of the artist’s ‘matchstick figures’ which come to life.  

In Untitled, Haring’s people morph into a wider, anthropomorphic structure with one eyeball and sinewy elbows. The composition is strikingly cartoon-like in its figuration: interestingly, Haring’s father was a cartoonist himself. The artist said ‘I probably gained much of my colour sense through luminous colour coming from television’, a statement that can perhaps be applied to his formal renderings as well as his palette. 

With a tangible sense of movement and buzz – indicated by the bracketed lines that surround all his figures, Untitled is a clear example of Haring’s work always defies stillness. This can be in part be put down to the vibrant music and dance scenes the artist was a part of in 1980s New York. Frequenting clubs such as The Paradise Garage where he saw breakdancers, Haring was influenced to convey this choreography in his paintings and prints, injecting them with rhythm.