RAW COLOR

Exhibition & Graphic Design

Keith Haring: Grace House Mural

March 2022

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The exhibition Keith Haring: Grace House Mural present the early works by the celebrated American artist Keith Haring.

Thirteen wall panels of the Grace House mural are shown in Europe for the first time, next to paintings and drawings he made in public spaces such as the New York subway system. The exhibition also reflects the intimate collaboration and friendship between Haring, photographer Tseng Kwong Chi and choreographer Muna Tseng in New York in the 1980s.
The focus of the exhibition is on the spontaneous and performative nature of Haring's oeuvre. The studio took care of both the exhibition design and the graphic design of the publication. They have been structured in three chapters such as: Grace House Mural, Subway Drawings and Epochal Songs. To bridge between the space and publication a colour palette has been developed that is applicable for both of them. The exhibition took place from March 9, 2022 to September 25, 2022 at Schunck in Heerlen.

The Exhibition: Keith Haring: Grace House Mural
To highlight the vibrant cultural life and downtown scene of Keith Haring, light boxes throughout the whole exhibition show pictures made by friend and photographer Tseng Kwong Chi. These light boxes pop out on the colourful walls that present the different chapters of the exhibition, arranged by hues of the developed palette to accent the accompanied works.


The Book:
Keith Haring, Muna Tseng, and Tseng Kwong Chi – Boundless Minds & Moving Bodies in 80's New York
This book shows an intimate visual journey through the early collaborations between Keith Haring, Muna Tseng and Tseng Kwong Chi. Together and independently, they were immersed in and contributors to the bustling and vibrant cultural downtown scene. The hues of the developed colour palette accent the vibrant material linked to Keith Haring and connects the exhibition to the book. To enhance the different types of content several papers have been applied. The rough uncoated paper to  the lively and unpolished scene photo's. The smooth coated paper for best reproduction of the artists work. The most heavy matte and machine coated paper to open each artists chapter. All together to create a haptic book experience and to provide a maximum contrast between the different parts of the publication.


Project team Raw Color:
Christoph Brach, Daniera ter Haar, Tijs Van Nieuwenhuysen, Noortje de Keijzer

Project team Schunck:
Cynthia Jordens, Fabian de Kloe, Jos Dreissen, Minnou Mennens, Janneke Peters, Sander Schoenmaekers, Hanna Zwart, Ralph Partouns, Renske Bouten

Publisher Nai010:
Marcel Witvoet, Natasja van Nunen



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Subway Drawings
The first part shows subway drawings made by Haring when he was 22 years old. In 1980 he drew his first subway drawing with chalk on one of the matte black paper used to cover old advertisements in a New York underground station. In five years time, he would draw more than 5,000 subway drawings, of which only dozens have survived. The exhibition shows eight subway drawings, complemented by Tseng's photographs of Haring drawing in the metro.


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Epochal Songs
Dance and movement are recurring motifs in Keith Haring's visual language. Haring frequently worked together with dancers and choreographers and also made sets and drawings for dance performances. One of those collaborations was with the dancer and choreographer Muna Tseng on the dance performance Epochal Songs that premiered in New York in 1982.


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Grace House Mural
The thirteen wall pieces of the Grace House Mural have never been shown in Europe before. Haring made this mural in 1983/84 in a New York Catholic youth centre. The work was about 26 metres long and covered the walls along the three-storey stairwell. In 2016, the shelter was closed and before the building was sold, the mural was removed. It can be seen here in thirteen panels, two original doors and an original radiator. The figures seem to stretch out into our space, full of movement and joy, as a symbol of hope.


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Boundless minds & movies bodies in 80’s New York
Simultaneously with the exhibition, the book Boundless Minds & Moving Bodies in 80's New York by publishers DAP and nai010 is presented. The book presents an intimate visual journey through the early collaborations between Keith Haring, Muna Tseng and Tseng Kwong Chi. It offers a unique and colourful prism of the three friends in their orbits, expressing themselves through different disciplinary languages: drawing, dance and photography.


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