Keith Haring at City Center

Overview

A popular artist and activist, Keith Haring was an influential part of the New York art scene during the 1980s. Inspired by graffiti art, he began drawing in New York’s subway stations, filling empty advertising spaces with chalk drawings. His aim was to make art accessible to everyone.

In 1983, legendary Milan-based designer Elio Fiorucci invited Haring to Milan to turn his store into a work of art. Fiorucci stripped his 5,000 square foot store bare, creating a blank wall canvas. Haring painted the shop in 13 hours, working overnight with his friend and collaborator Angel Ortiz (LA II), accompanied by the tunes of DJ Maurizio Marisco.

When the installation came down in 1984, Fiorucci saved the panels and kept them in storage for decades. The panel installed in City Center’s Shuman Lounge—on display in New York for the first time ever—was restored by Fiorucci in 1991.

A series of portraits by Jeannette Montgomery Barron, known for her photographs of the New York art world in the 1980s, accompanied the panel just outside the Lounge.

Fiorucci Walls photographed by Sebastian Freyer (top); Barron portraits (above) photographed by Paula Lobo.

Point of View

“
Part of the magic of Haring’s work…is its ability to be rediscovered and made newly meaningful, again and again.
—Hyperallergic

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“
The unexpected revealing of Fiorucci Walls…continues a surge in discoveries of Haring's works that were hidden from the US public
—Widewalls

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Credits

Fiorucci Walls, 1983
Site-specific performance on October 9, 1983, made in cooperation with Angel Ortiz (LA II) at the Fiorucci Store, Galleria Passarella, Milan, Italy.
On loan from MACo Museum of Chang Mai, Thailand.

Keith Haring
Reading, PA 1958 – New York, NY 1990

Angel Ortiz (LA II)
b. New York, NY 1967

Keith Haring
Photographed by Jeannette Montgomery Barron, 1985, NYC

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