Screenprint, 1989
Signed Print Edition of 30
H 104cm x W 144cm
This signed screen print from 1989 is a limited edition of 30 from Keith Haring’s Pyramid series. Published as part of a set of three screen prints on anodized aluminum, Haring’s Pyramid was completed in 1989, the year before his tragic death by AIDS. This print features a multitude of Haring’s most iconic symbols rendered in heavy bright yellow lines and set against a flattened teal backdrop.
Assembled within a large pyramid, Haring’s energetic figures dance around the canvas in a celebration of life and emanate a sense of positivity amidst an extremely difficult time in the artist’s life. Haring used his art as a way to promote positivity across the world and stated ‘It should be something that liberates the soul, provokes the imagination and encourages people to go further. It celebrates humanity instead of manipulating it.’
Throughout Haring’s work, the pyramid was a common symbol used to refer both to the otherworldliness of antiquity and as an emblem of eternity. Pyramid also nods to the way in which Haring was inspired by Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics throughout his career. The complex arrangement of many simplified figures and forms reflects Haring’s interest in how signs are used in many different cultures to concisely communicate multifaceted ideas.