Growing #4 1988

Keith Haring made "Growing #4" with bold lines and colors. It's like he's mapping out a whole universe in a single frame, right? I always think about the physicality of making when I look at art. Haring's work is immediate; you see the hand in it. The black background is smooth, a grounding force for the vibrant yellow lines. Look at the central figure, the one with the red circle. It feels like the nucleus of an idea, a seed from which all the other forms spring. The yellow lines dance around it, creating a sense of movement and energy, each mark, each zigzag, feels deliberate, but also spontaneous. Haring's work shares some energy with that of Joan Miró. Both share a love of playful forms and a graphic sensibility. But where Miró feels dreamlike, Haring is direct, plugged into the here and now. And that's what keeps his work so alive, even now.