Big Keith Haring show at 60 White

The gallery 60 White is now showing Keith Haring: A World in Motion, curated by Carlo McCormick in collaboration with collector Lio Malca. There are multiple floors and monumental paintings, sculptures — and even works that glow in black light. (Tuesday to Saturday, 10a to 6p)

There are key works created all over the world — including a Paris Metro drawing at the Alma–Marceau station (1984) and a five-panel mural created in San Francisco (1986). At the center of the exhibition is a recreation of the DV8 nightclub, capturing the convergence of art, music, performance and nightlife that shaped Haring’s world.

From the gallery: “In the 1980s, Haring chose the New York subway as his primary site, creating chalk drawings on black paper that were direct, rhythmic, and accessible. Situated within the flow of daily life, these works transformed the city’s underground into an active exhibition space. They circulated alongside boomboxes, breakdancing, and the music that defined the city. Haring’s work remains defined by motion, a continuous dialogue between city, culture, and community.”

Haring died at his apartment on LaGuardia Place in 1990 from complications of AIDS at the age of 31. His memorial was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on May 4, 1990, what would have been Haring’s 32nd birthday. David Dinkins was among the speakers: “He was a man whose short life was a mission of life and hope,” said Dinkins, for whom Haring had designed campaign materials. “Rarely has a person in his position given so much of himself to other human beings…His whirlwind philanthropy stands out even in a city known for philanthropy.”

Lio Malca is a collector, hotelier and private dealer who has been collecting art since the early 1990s with a focus on artists from the New York ’80s art scene, specifically Jean-Michel Basquiat, Haring, Kenny Scharf and George Condo. Over the last 30 years, he has organized a wide range of exhibits, including pop-up shows, long-term gallery shows and full-scale museum shows.

 

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