KEITH HARING, DR WINKIES WEDDING INVITATION, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT, EDITION OF 125, 1988
Unusual for having been printed onto canvas rather than paper, Dr Winkie’s Wedding Invitation shows two figures joined by a head in which beats a red love heart. Surrounded by Haring’s signature energy lines, the androgynous figures hold hands and dance against a pink background in a joyful celebration of love and energy.
Created as a wedding announcement for the union of Estefania Kong and Lawrence ‘Dr. Winkie’ Lin, this print is rendered in Haring’s trademark figurative style with vivid, contrasting colours and bold outlines. Throughout his artistic oeuvre, Haring used the motif of conjoined genderless figures as a symbol for the power of working together. Thus, this joyful pictogram is apt for an invitation to a wedding, where the two figures in the image come together to form a beating heart.
Published in an edition of 125 this print is signed by the artist. Though Haring had experimented with print techniques such as lithography in the late 1970s it wasn’t until 1983 that he began making screen prints. Representing the union of Haring’s painting and printing practice, it is an important part of his catalogue raisonné and demonstrates the essential importance of the drawn line in his work.
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ABOUT KEITH HARING
Known for his bold graphic style and playful sense of humour, Keith Haring is one of the most influential and adored artists of the 20th century.
Born in Pennsylvania, in 1958, Haring was a talented draughtsman as a child and developed his cartoonish style at the hands of his father and the work of Walt Disney and Dr Seuss. However it would take some time before he realised he could marry this kind of drawing with being a fine artist. Upon graduating from high school he enrolled in a commercial art school before realising he had little interest in pursuing a career as an illustrator or graphic designer. After dropping out of college he joined the hippie movement and hitchhiked across the country where he made anti-Nixon t-shirts to pay for food and Grateful Dead tickets. Learn more about Keith Haring.
