The writing, commonly known with the generic “Street art” appellation, was born in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is part of all that turbulent social moment that crossed the city of New York, made up of racial tensions and strong cultural transformations, from which one of the most important and significant movements for global culture was generated: hip hop, of which writing is one of the four arts together with MC (which would be the ancestor of rap), breakdance and DJing.
The first recognizable forms of graffiti are repeated signatures – the so-called “tags” – which begin to appear on the metro cars and on the walls of the suburbs. Names as TAKI 183, which became known in 1971 after an article in The New York Times, mark one of the first moments when this phenomenon enters public speech. Within a few years, writing evolves into more complex forms: lettering elaborate, murals on a large scale, competition between crew and a widespread spread throughout the metro network, which becomes the main “galleria” of the city.
Alcune tag su una cassetta elettrica
In the 1980s, this language intertwined with other artistic forms and the nascent hip hop culture, expanding its range of action. Some artists start moving between road and gallery, helping to redefine the boundaries between “high” art and urban culture. It is the case of Jean-Michel Basquiat, which starts from the graffiti signed SAMO, or Keith Haring, which uses the empty advertising spaces of the underground to create quickly recognizable chalk designs. In this passage, street art gradually stops being just a spontaneous or illegal act and begins to be recognized as an autonomous artistic form. .
Keith Haring disegna su un cartellone pubblicitario vuoto della metropolitana newyorkese
The graffiti is often spoken for the difficulty of interpreting its meaning: the repetition of a writing, often particularly illegible, makes this art even repulsive for those who live the cities. Keith Haring made the simplicity of his works his distinctive sign, even when his career brought him to galleries and museums. His figures – stylized men, radiant dogs, repeated symbols – are designed to be readable by anyone, regardless of context
Less known, however, is the fact that this accessibility logic also extends to three-dimensional and mobile objects, such as cars that the artist transformed into painting surfaces, literally bringing the work into motion in urban space.
From April 10, 2026, two of these works are exhibited together for the first time in Manhattan in the exhibition Keith Haring: On the Street, hosted by Free Parking, an exhibition space created in a former carriage yard at 16 Morton Street, in the West Village. The exhibition, organized by the CART Department, brings together a 1963 Buick Special and a Land Rover Defender, both realized in the 1980s.
The exhibition accompanies the release of Keith Haring in 3D, published by The Monacelli Press, dedicated to the three-dimensional works of the artist. According to Hypebeast, the two cars will later be included in a wider museum exhibition in Arkansas from June. Next to the exhibition, the program includes meetings with two figures related to the New York art scene, Marka27 and Brad Gooch, as well as evening events that recall the cultural context of the mid-1980s.
The entrance is free and the exhibition remains open until 19 April, with 12–18 hours. The limited duration and the choice of space — an environment that maintains a direct relationship with the road — work as part of the project: bringing these works back in a context consistent with their origin, closer to the urban dimension than to the museum.
L’articolo An exhibition with cars painted by Keith Haring proviene da IlNewyorkese.
