KEITH HARING, THE PARIS REVIEW, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT, EDITION OF 200, 1989
The Paris Review is a print by Keith Haring from 1989, completed in the later stages of his career whereby the artist had reached the height of his fame. The print features the text ‘The Paris Review’ on the left hand side of the image, rendered in Haring’s classic rounded outlines. On the right Haring shows an unusual portrait of a clown-like figure with tentacles growing from its head.
In 1964, the famous quarterly English-language literary magazine The Paris Review initiated a series of prints and posters by contemporary artists with the goal of establishing an ongoing relationship between the art and literary worlds. Haring created this print for the periodical just as many other renowned artists of the post-war decades such as Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney and Louise Bourgeois had done before him
This print uses bright, primary colours and simplified shapes to make a piece that is instantly recognisable as Haring’s work. The unusual but playful image of the clown-figure, rendered through simplified and flattened shapes, appeals to both adults and children alike, highlighting Haring’s desire to create a universal art to be understood by the masses.
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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.