There’s something just right about this combination…

To commemorate what would have been legendary Street/Pop artist KEITH HARING’s 50th birthday this Sunday, May 4th, DEITCH PROJECTS, in collaboration with THE KEITH HARING FOUNDATION, have recreated the legendary mural painted by the late artist in the summer of 1982 on Houston Street at Bowery in what was then the center of the downtown art & gallery scene. Faithfully replicated by GOTHAM SCENIC from TSENG KWONG CHI’s extensive archival photo documentation of the original piece, the mural has been repainted in the exact spot on the exact wall where it first appeared over 25 years ago. To ensure color-matching accuracy, original samples were procured by scraping away layers of paint on the wall until pieces of the original image were revealed.  The mural is set to be “officially unveiled” this Sunday with a formal dedication ceremony but it’s already up for all to see. Space for the memorial was donated by real estate developer Tony Goldman, who owns the wall and the stunningly dayglo mural will remain on display until December 21st. Streetwise New Yorkers will remember this spot as the corner where a revolving cast of graffiti artists have left their mark for decades, and, most recently, where downtown graff gargoyle NECK FACE’s most prominent tag has remained unmolested by haters for the past several years…

The corner as it appeared shortly before the Haring repaint. Adios, Nasty Neck…

BACK IN THE DAY:

A vintage photo of Haring’s original mural shortly after he painted it in 1982. We miss the old New York… (Photograph by TSENG KWONG CHI)