Keith Haring’s ‘Chocolate Buddha’ Series

Art & Activism

Feb 8, 2025

Keith Haring’s ‘Chocolate Buddha’ Series

New York artist, Keith Haring (1958-1990) is one of the most influential names in Post-War art, known for his colourful and playful pop-graffiti and socially engaged art. Completed the year before his death, Haring’s ‘Chocolate Buddha’ series (1989) exemplifies his simplified figurative style, while exploring more complex, integrated compositions.

The complete set of ‘Chocolate Buddha’ is available at our Bond Street gallery and online now. Read on to learn more about this sought after series…

Limbs, objects, and creatures are all prominent in the five lithographs that make up the series, forming complex patterns of striking colours and intricate lines. By limiting himself to the use of two tones in each print, Haring’s bold, thick lines maintain an eye-catching simplicity. Each print in the series possesses an engaging and compulsive quality, infused with a dynamic energy and vibrant colours.

Keith Haring

Chocolate Buddha 1 (left)
Chocolate Buddha 3 (right)
from the ‘Chocolate Buddha’ series

In the ‘Chocolate Buddha’ series, each print speaks of the pervasive impact of modern society and mass media. The outline of figures disintegrate among the swirling patterns, seamlessly melting together. Haring’s composition of intertwined forms mirrors the loss of identity in a crowd, suggesting how swiftly we may lose ourselves within the confines of society.

Instead of his typical screenprinting method, Haring’s ‘Chocolate Buddha’ series is produced using lithography. This method allowed Haring to maintain the crisp edges and opaque sections of colour that make this series so visually attractive. To this day, Haring’s artworks continue to captivate the viewer, by mesmerising them with his twisting, morphing shapes and challenging the way they interpret them with his thought provoking symbols imbedded in his designs.