From the press release:
Gladstone Gallery is pleased to announce our first exhibition of works by Keith Haring. In 1982, Barbara Gladstone commissioned Haring to make a series of lithographs that were the first prints ever made by the artist, therefore it is with great pleasure that we present this exhibition. Long recognized as a leading figure in the energetic and innovative downtown culture of New York in the 1980s, this brilliantly inventive and prolific artist consistently forged new creative territories throughout his life and work that profoundly reflected his deep insight into the cultural zeitgeist of his day.

Presenting never before seen works on paper, this exhibition focuses on the evolutionary period of Haring’s early drawings, which traces the development of his formal language and elaborative visual vocabulary. Created in conjunction with a series of Bill T. Jones performances held in 1982 at The Kitchen, these three monumental works on view demonstrate the striking fluidity of Haring’s bold graphics and his innate mastery of the optical possibilities of form and space. Executed in real time during Jones’ dance performances—functioning as active set pieces with the sound of Haring’s brushstrokes serving as the only audio accompaniment —these works entrench the viewer in a field of interlocking geometries and spatial patterning, coalescing into an intimately constructed all-over effect. This exhibition will also present a selection of Haring’s early sketchbook drawings, which capture the period when he was avidly exploring his artistic impulses and initiating the working processes through which the basic components of his practice and aesthetic sensibility would take shape.

The exhibition runs May 4th to July 1st.

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