Before the global fame and the Sotheby’s auctions, there was just white chalk dust on a black subway platform.
There are some images so deeply woven into the fabric of New York City that you can’t imagine the five boroughs without them.
The bold, energetic lines of a crawling baby radiating light or figures dancing with uncontainable joy—these are the visual signatures of Keith Haring, the artist who turned the entire city into his personal laboratory.
Now, a new exhibition at The Brant Foundation offers a chance to step directly into the gritty, electrifying pulse of 1980s downtown NYC.
Here is everything you need to know about the show every New Yorker will be talking about this spring!
From subway platforms to gallery walls
The exhibition, titled simply Keith Haring, is an intimate look at the artist’s “breakthrough” years between 1980 and 1983.
This was the era when Haring famously used the MTA as his gallery, creating ephemeral drawings on the black paper of unused advertising panels.
As you walk through the four floors of the light-filled space, you’ll see the birth of his legendary iconography. We’re talking:
- The Radiant Baby & Barking Dogs: See how these symbols evolved from quick subway sketches into massive, vibrating canvases.
- The Legendary Blacklight Room: The show features works from Haring’s 1982 Tony Shafrazi Gallery show, where he famously transformed a basement into a neon, UV-lit “Blacklight Room” that blurred the lines between an art gallery and a dance floor.
- Early Masterpieces: Expect to see rare ink-on-paper works and even “Emoji-like” baked enamel paintings that prove Haring was decades ahead of the digital age.
A neighborhood homecoming
What makes this experience truly special is its location.
The Brant Foundation is housed at 421 East 6th St, just blocks from where Haring lived and worked.
The building itself is a piece of history too.
It’s a century-old former Con Edison power substation that later served as the home and studio for the legendary artist Walter De Maria.
To see Haring’s work here—amidst the same East Village streets where he once dodged the police to tag a subway station—feels like a true homecoming.
Dates, details & ticket information
If you’re planning to go (and you should), here are the verified details to keep in mind:
- When: The exhibit officially opens March 11, 2026 and runs through May 31, 2026.
- Where: 421 East 6th Street (East Village).
- Tickets: While The Brant Foundation has hosted free shows in the past, tickets for this blockbuster are paid and are on sale now for around $20!