Art & Bicycles - Keith Haring’s Cinelli Laser - A 1980s Masterpiece
There are some fantastic examples of where art and bikes combine, but in our eyes the most iconic example has to be the Cinelli Laser pursuit with disc wheels painted by Keith Haring in the 1980s. A friend recalls walking past this on display in a bike shop window in Manhattan during the 1980s, and being blown away - not just by the bike itself with it’s aggressive position and smooth sculptural frame, but the ease with which Haring’s simple line men danced across the wheels.
Antonio's office. An avid art collector & huge fan of Keith Haring. Image courtesy Velo News.
The ‘canvas’ of this collaboration was the hugely successful Cinelli Laser pursuit frame, with it’s aerodynamic tubing profiles, smooth TIG welded joints and carefully shaped gussets, even the colour is iconic in the bike world, an immediately recognisable light metallic blue.
Some details of an iconic Keith Haring painted Cinelli Laser. Image courtesy of The Creative Brothers.
On the two different sized disc wheels Haring drew his dynamic dancing figures in white, breezily implying movement even when the bike is stationary. Part of Haring’s genius was an ability to use the space afforded him, a skill honed by spending his art school years drawing on every and any space he could, the round profile of the wheels could have been awkward but Haring somehow gets it just right, a balance also found in the bikes profile.
Was the Cinelli Laser already a work of art? Probably, but the Haring version takes it to a whole new level.
Keith Haring showing off a 1980s Cinelli MTB. No snazzy disc wheels here though. Image courtesy Velo News.
Speaking of a whole new level, we found this incredible project by Glenn Catchpole who recreated the Keith Haring Cinelli Laser as a 3D visualisation. You can see the full details here.
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