This Studio Sunday we’re looking at artist Keith Haring. Haring rose to prominence mainly in the late 70s and early 80s, becoming well-known for his brightly-coloured, reductive artworks that dealt with almost incongruously serious issues both social and political.

I love the floors in Haring’s studio – I have to wonder if the space came like that when he first moved into it, or if he got the floors put in once he was well-established in his artistic career. The whole space is very complementary to the artist’s style – the large, heavy clay vases sitting in the center of the room are mysterious and yet, strangely fitting.

On the back wall there’s some formidable stacks of unknown supplies – possible cans of paint – so it looks like Haring was well equipped to work full-time in the studio space. I also love how many small tubes of paint he has on the floor beside him as he works on his current painting – considering the somewhat minimalist aesthetic of the artist’s work, I wonder how many of those paint tubes he would end up using.

Haring was based in New York for the unfortunately short duration of his artistic career, so his studio was located in reasonable distance from a variety of fellow artists and cultural institutions. I wonder if Haring had many visitors to the studio – while it does look quite work-oriented, there’s a small sofa visible at the back of the room.

Haring’s work also bled over into the fashion industry, as the artist was introduced to pop artist Andy Warhol and later met a number of singers and performers through him. Even today, the artist’s work appears in the designs of a number of fashion houses and on street clothing sold in stores. 

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