Evolution of Aesthetic
This narrative outlines the evolution of Keith's aesthetic by introducing several of his paintings and detailing the progression from one to the next. It broadly explores the sources of inspiration that guide his artistic inquiry and highlights the iterative, recursive nature of his practice.
Living Tessellations (LT)
One emphasis of Keith’s art practice is the creation of Living Tessellation (LT) paintings, such as the one shown to the left (Fig 1). These paintings are constellations of shapes that are both organic and evolving (i.e., living) and patterned and rhythmic (i.e., tessellations). These paintings are composed of nested shapes whose centers of mass are generally arranged in an equidistant manner. This mode of arrangement is as old as art itself, yet finds notable precedent in the work of Paul Klee (1879-1940), Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985), Yayaoi Kusama (1929-), Pierre Alechinsky (1927-2024), and Keith Haring (1958-1990), as shown in the example works in Fig 2. The living tessellation shapes Keith vdW’s derives are unique to him, resulting from codified rules such as those illustrated in Fig 3. These shapes ultimately exist in sets of aesthetically unified families, as depicted further by the bottom center imagery of Figure 3, and as demonstrated in the LT paintings throughout this website.
Fig 1. LT35
Fig 3. Parameterization of Living Tessellation paintings.
Fig 2. Reference paintings; left to right, top to bottom: Paul Klee (1879-1940), Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985), Yayaoi Kusama (1929-), Pierre Alechinsky (1927-2024), Keith Haring (1958-1990).
Keith has developed various techniques for filling Living Tessellations. Some approaches emphasize visual distinction between neighboring shapes—achieved through varied color palettes, for example, as seen in Figs 1 and 4. Others yield a more homogeneous effect, with the entire assemblage conveying a unified energy, exemplified in Figs 5 and 6.
Fig 4. LT9AS1
Fig 5. LT6S3
Fig 6. LT27.
By examining an intricate Living Tessellation form constellation and identifying a region of high compositional interest, Keith created the painting shown in Fig 4. This piece is part of a larger series of paintings (see also LT8A, B, C; LT52, LT53) in which different form types--such as spirals, waves, and inversions--are specifically featured and celebrated. These paintings are executed with a focus on extreme compositional and color simplicity.
This line of inquiry was inspired in part by Mondrian (Fig 7), and, like in Mondrian, the most compelling elements of the painting may be implied rather than overtly depicted—i.e. shown partially and therefore suggested to extend beyond the canvas into an unbounded pictorial space. These pieces Keith makes are exercises in occlusion, minimalism, and restraint, marked by an intense focus on achieving balanced proportionality. They are executed purely by hand, with no masking or mechanical assistance, yet with an attempted high degree of precision. Thus, upon close inspection, the engaged viewer is rewarded with evidence of the artist's hand--construction marks, brush texture, sheen variation, and layering effects of the rich cadmiums pigments used.
Fig 7. Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1930, oil on canvas, 46 x 46 cm (Kunsthaus Zürich)
Running Man (RM)
Fig 8. RM19
The special case of a line-based form constellation is shown in Fig 8. The shapes are reminiscent of the running man stick figures of Glee and Haring.
As the forms adopt a more serpentine, undulating topology, the constellation shown in Fig 9 emerges. These forms are largely derived by permuting the elements depicted in Fig 10. Selected areas of interest—highlighted in Fig 9—were ultimately developed into full-sized paintings, as shown in Figure 11.
Fig 9. Serpentine RM form constellation
Fig 10. Serpentine form codification
Fig 11. RM3 paintings.
Fig 12 shows RM forms that are related to but more generalized than those in Fig 8, exhibiting greater character and variability. Figure 13 marks an even more pronounced evolution: here neighboring forms include extended appendages that result in intersections and coalescence while maintaining a broadly uniform distribution density across the composition. The teal contrasts starkly against the fluorescent orange, while the black linework facilitates legibility of the painting and affords dimension to the forms and sequence to the marks.
Fig 12. RM18 with detail photo.
Fig 13. RM9 detail photo.
As may be inferred, the creation of these form constellations is shaped by multiple competing parameters—making the final, equilibrated composition as much a process of discovery as of deliberate design. Elements result from this process that are of intriguing aesthetic quality and may themselves be used to either seed a form constellation (i.e. facilitate the derivation of a family of related forms) or be featured in paintings themselves. For example, a center left form in Fig 13 has become the subject of the painting in Fig 14. Surprising observations also occur in relation to colors and materials. For example, the vibrant fluorescent orange background of the Fig 13 painting--so carefully mixed, applied, and treated--was seen to readily exist in commercially available traffic cones. Thus the serpentine RM paradigm was executed "in the round" to achieve the painting shown in Fig 15.
Fig 14. RM14
Fig 15. RM41B
Echo Paintings (EP)
By layering forms similar to those depicted in Fig 12, Keith created the painting depicted in Fig 16. In particular, an initial yellow form constellation was established, then, over the top of this, blue forms are created where each over-form “echoes” its corresponding under-form, establishing a visual dialogue between layers. Put another way, the over-form aligns with the under-form in places (running, for example, in an offset parallel fashion) and also purposefully diverges in places. The form density and aesthetic is preserved as the composition is built. The the red layer of forms is applied last, and here the same echoing paradigm is followed, yet the translucently of the red adds an element of dimension and facilitates legibility of the under-layers.
Fig 17 shows a detail photo of the painting in Fig 16. Consistent with previously illustrated work, areas of compositional interest such as this are identified and used to inspire additional paintings. Fig 18 is one such piece, which is in fact a full-size painting that directly captures forms shown in the center left of Fig 16 (one must rotate the orientation by approximately 180 degrees).
Fig 16. EP2
Fig 17. EP2 detail
Fig 18. EP4
The focused regions in compositions such as those shown in Figs 17 and 18 led to Keith's interest being directed to precise form-to-form relationships, and, in particular, to basic elemental relationships--those of a set of parallel lines, offset circles, a dot and a line--to name a few. This investigation resulted in the simpler and more focused paintings shown in Figs 19 and 20.
Fig 19. EP21
Fig 20. EP10A
Fig 21. EP29S2
The works of the sort exemplified in Figs 19 and 20 began to take on their own aesthetic direction. Keith thus began exploring permutations of the simple elements shown, and adding back in sophistication, yet within the constraints of this paradigm. Over time, he arrived at pieces such as that shown in Fig 21 below.
Conclusion
Painting types LT, RM, and EP have been described and demonstrated. The pathway of Keith's inquiry is demonstrated--from the initial Living Tessellation shown in Fig 1 to the Echo Painting in Fig 21. Keith's painting development process has been shown to be iterative and recursive in nature. The future possibilities for this work are exciting and utterly endless.