Art/Reviews

Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody
When: Now until Sun., Mar. 17
Where: Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W.
Rating: NNNNN (Out of 5)
Why you should go: Bathe yourself in the positive vibes of Keith Haring’s fine-art street art where even his activist work leaves you feeling uplifted.

WHETHER BY DESIGN or just good fortune, two shows currently on view at AGO seem programmed to raise the spirits of all who see them. Both the Kaws: Family and Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody shows are filled with much-needed playfulness for these dark times.

And the gift shop is buzzing as both of the street-artists-turned-fine-artists have churned out instant iconography that looks great on mugs, T-shirts and more.

This is Keith Haring’s first time back at the AGO in 20 years. In many ways, it feels like Haring, who passed in 1990, paved the way for Kaws (Brooklyn-based artist Brian Donnelly) in elevating street art from just graffiti to displays in fine galleries.

Some might say Kaws got the art without the activism. The Kaws show is magnificently inventive and fun. There’s even an augmented reality piece. I won’t try to explain, but it’s worth loading the required app onto your phone to view.

And the Kaws show is certainly worth going to — smile-inducing, Instagram-able fun. But the arrival of the Haring show feels like the GOAT is now in the room.

The sprawling exhibit celebrates an activist artist whose work was iconic in agitating for AIDS victims’ rights and in the fight against South African apartheid and nuclear arms. The foundation the artist created as he waged a losing battle with AIDS continues to do important work, using funds from licensing his art to support not-for-profit children’s charities and organizations involved in education, prevention and care related to AIDS.

The Haring exhibit is packed with thrilling work throughout his career, including a series of massive canvasses with his trademark figures almost life-sized.

There’s a video of the artist in action, spray painting his tags throughout the New York City subway system, as an aspiring artist and later as a fine artist determined to keep his work accessible.

We get party pics with Madonna and friends and a video of “live art” creation that sees Haring working with dancer Bill. T. Jones.

The Day-Glo room is a highlight, proving a perfect setting for Haring’s work. Quite simply a show not to be missed. What, you don’t like smiling?