Exclusively the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne – Australia) hosts the exhibition open from 1 December 2019 to 11 April 2020. An occasion that offers new and fascinating insights into their unique visual languages and reveals, for the first time, the many intersections between their lives, practices and ideas.
Keith Haring (American 1958-1990) and Jean-Michel Basquiat (American 1960-1988) changed the art world of the 80s through their idiosyncratic imagery, radical ideas and complex socio-political commentary, creating an indelible legacy that continues to influence contemporary vision and popular culture today. Each artist is acclaimed for their distinctive visual language, which employs signs, symbols and words to convey strong social and political messages in unconventional ways.
The exhibition examines each artist's tragically short but prolific career through more than 200 works of art, including works created in public spaces, painting, sculpture, objects, works on paper, photographs and more. Crossing Lines offers local and international audiences a comprehensive insight into the careers of these influential artists.
Drawing on examples of artists' work from the streets and subway stations of New York City, the exhibition features early collaborations and works from each artist's breakthrough exhibitions along with many of their most acclaimed works, including paintings featuring the crown and motifs of Basquiat and Haring's iconic radiant baby and dancing figures. By examining symbols, iconography and their incomparable styles, the exhibition also offers a wider appreciation of the creative social circles in which they have moved alongside other iconic figures including Andy Warhol, Madonna and Grace Jones.
Crossing Lines was treated for NGV by Dr. Dieter Buchhart, art historian and curator of recent monographic exhibitions on Jean-Michel Basquiat (Fondation Louis Vuitton, Barbican Art Gallery) and Keith Haring (Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris ).
An accompanying publication features an essay by exhibition curator Dr Dieter Buchhart, as well as additional essays by Ricardo Montez, Myles Russell-Cook, Larry Warsh and Linda Yablonsky, along with a republication of Rene Ricard's seminal 1981 text on artists. Also included in this lavishly illustrated book are interviews with Jenny Holzer, George Condo, Diego Cortez, and Patti Astor.
What a beautiful initiative, a pity it takes place so far away… I would like to buy the volume dedicated to the Exhibition, could I please have more details about it: title, publisher, etc. etc. Thank you! claire
You can find all the information directly on the National Vittoria website. Here the link https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/keith-haring-jean-michel-basquiat/