The NGV Is Bringing Back Keith Haring's Famed 1984 Water Wall Mural
The gallery will recreate the famed US artist's temporary work, 35 years on.
When Keith Haring visited Australia for the first and only time in 1984, he left a mark in more ways than one. Among a slew of works he created at the likes of the Collingwood Technical College and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the renowned US artist also painted a temporary mural on the NGV's famed Water Wall, becoming the first to ever do so. Now, the gallery is bringing back this famed, but fleeting work, for its upcoming exhibition, Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines.
To accompany the world-first exhibition, which runs from December 1, 2019, to April 13, 2020, the NGV will recreate Haring's Water Wall mural at the same site, 35 years on. It'll see the original piece reimagined in the form of an eye-catching vinyl graphic, unveiled on November 22 and sticking around for the exhibition's duration.
Keith Haring preparing an artwork on the Water Wall at the NGV. Photo: Geoffrey Burke.
Haring's 1984 work was crafted over two days and featured an interwoven drawing in white, red and black paint. Staying true to the artist's distinctive signature style, it incorporated a snake, a crawling baby, a mushroom cloud and a dolphin, among other simplified figures. Haring himself said of the mural: "It's a series of images about life and things which threaten life. Maybe it's a kind of play on good and evil, but I prefer people to read it however they want to."
The Crossing Lines exhibition is set to showcase over 200 works from across both Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat's careers, reflecting on the many similarities that can be drawn between their lives, practices and ideas.
Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines runs from December 1, 2019, to April 13, 2020, at the National Gallery of Victoria International, Melbourne. The mural recreation will be on display from November 22, 2019, to April 13, 2020.
Top images: Keith Haring preparing an artwork on the Water Wall at the NGV. Photos: Geoffrey Burke.
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