Flowers III is from a series of five ‘Flowers’ screenprints Haring produced in the final months of his life. A recurring trope in the history of art, particularly in the context of still-lifes, it is an idiosyncratic motif within the context of Haring’s oeuvre. Beyond Haring’s homage to 19th Century artist James Ensor, which also features skeletons, flowers are extremely rare to see in his work. Considering this, it is possible that it was inspired by Warhol’s series of the same title produced in 1964. Warhol was a close friend and strong influence, and his death in 1987 strongly affected Haring. In an interview with David Sheff, Haring reveals, “Even when we became friends, I was always still sort of in awe of him.” One cannot help but notice the similarities between the works within the context of each artist’s practice: much like Warhol’s Flowers, which appeared out of character with his ubiquitous images of commercial branding, Haring’s stand out for their seemingly innocent nature.
As much as for its subject, Flowers 3 stands out for Haring’s technical experimentation. The bold black outlines, the quintessential facet of his style, are present, delineating the unusual shapes of the flowers. However, as opposed to block colours, the floral designs are filled by scribbles of colour or stippled dots as if imitating Roy Lichtenstein’s Pop canvases. Haring has also let the paint drip, a process he saw as an intrinsic part of its development: “The dripping... well, if it happens, it happens; it does not take anything from the work. The dripping just proves that you were not trying to control the work, but the work was developing by itself and if it drips, it’s a natural part in the evolution of the work.” The drips, bold black forms and “drawn” colour hark back to Haring’s origins as a graffiti artist.
Created in 1990, this piece was produced during the height of Haring’s success and celebrity, and has become a desirable and sought-after graphic work by the artist in today’s market.