Keith Haring: Apocalypse
Hunter East Harlem Gallery
2180 3rd Avenue
September 17 – December 4, 2026
Hours: Wednesday thru Friday 12-6pm, and by appointment (please contact Caitlin Anklam)
OPENING RECEPTION:
Thursday, September 17, 2026
6–8 pm
The complete series of 22 framed works were generously donated to CCNY by the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation in 2024 and was exhibited for the first time at CCNY March 2025, followed by an exhibition at The Art Gallery at Brooklyn College Fall 2025. The intention for the donation is for the series to travel to other CUNY campuses to be displayed and inspire discussion among students, faculty, staff and alumni, especially members of the LGBTQ+ communities.
Keith Haring (1958-1990) collaborated on the Apocalypse series with the Beat Era poet and author, William S. Burroughs (1914-1997), who wrote the introduction along with correlating texts to each of the 10 screenprints that Haring created. The series was completed in 1988, the same year that Haring was diagnosed with AIDS. Read in conjunction with Burroughs’ poetic words describing scenes of chaos, the prints act as a visual commentary about the AIDS crisis, illustrating the duality of life and death, heaven and hell, good and evil. These prints are a testament to Haring’s bold line work, use of color and his meticulous eye for composition resulting in collages that include religious, art historical and 1950s magazine imagery with scenes of urban destruction, modern technology and monsters.
