Ludo #3 1985

Keith Haring made 'Ludo #3’ sometime in the 80s with black and red ink, and what I love about it is the boldness of it, the way the image just pops right off the surface, and the flatness of the color. I imagine Haring just going for it, trusting his gut, laying down those confident black lines that define the shapes. Look at the red figure—it's like a person or a tree or maybe even a strange kind of hand, but then it's sinking in a pool of squiggles and I wonder whether he was thinking about something going wrong. I’ve been there, painting away, only to realize the painting is fighting me. Maybe Haring felt that too, grappling with the image, trying to make it work, pushing and pulling until it finds its own rhythm. Haring always looked to other artists. It's like we're all in this big conversation together, bouncing ideas off each other, building on what came before, and figuring out where we can take it next. And with painting there’s no right answer; it is about embracing the messiness, the uncertainty, and seeing where it takes you.