Arlington Museum of Art To Host 50 Original Keith Haring Works

(Dallas Observer, April 30, 2019)  Keith Haring’s vibrant work will soon decorate the blank, cream-colored walls at Arlington's Museum of Art. From June 21 until Sept. 15, visitors will be able to read Haring's opinions, as told through his art, about things like the environment and health care, in Keith Haring: Against All Odds, which includes more than 50 original works.

Aldo Fritz, AMA’s new executive director, says the artist’s colorful work, which sometimes incorporates pop icons like Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Mickey Mouse, speaks to various social issues across different age groups. With the exhibition, Haring means to tackle subjects such as consumerism, poverty, religious dogma, violence, racism and AIDS.

Fritz draws parallels to fellow Pennsylvanian Andy Warhol, describing Haring as an innovative artist who wanted to expand as an artist, and also dropped out of art school.

“(Haring) wanted to really break the rules,” says Fritz. “What society was telling him may be the wrong thing, he knew it was the right thing.”

Using New York subways as a canvas, Haring created graffiti art, Fritz says, while following an urge to talk about the social situations in play during the 1980s...

Click here to read the rest of the story by Karen Gavis for the Dallas Observer. Photo courtesy of the Arlington Museum of Art.