Keith Haring Signed Champions: Contemporary Art Center of Cleveland Lithographic

A contemporary lithographic poster designed by Keith Haring titled “Champions,” Feb 17 - Mar 23, 1984 at The Contemporary Art Center of Cleveland.” Hand signed in red, bottom right. A historic exhibition which featured young artists from the graffiti and comic book scene. The artists included James Brown, Ronnie Curtone, Brett De Palma, Dan Friedman, Futura 2000, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf. The poster design is in Haring’s signature style. Whimsical dancing figures and the squiggly lines seem to vibrate with energy on the bright yellow background. From a private collection. Dimensions: 27.75”h x 19.5”w (unframed). In very good vintage condition with slight discoloration consistent with age.

Keith Haring (1958-1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has become a widely recognized visual language. Haring's popularity grew from his spontaneous drawings in New York City subways; chalk outlines of figures, dogs, and other stylized images on blank black advertising spaces. After gaining public recognition, he created colorful larger scale murals, many commissioned. He produced more than 50 public artworks between 1982 and 1989, many of them created voluntarily for hospitals, day care centers and schools. In 1986, he opened the Pop Shop as an extension of his work. His later work often conveyed political and societal themes; anti-crack, anti-apartheid, safe sex, homosexuality, and AIDS; through his own iconography.