Pop Shop
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Keith Haring |
| Defunct | 2005 |
| Website | https://pop-shop.com |
The Pop Shop was a retail establishment owned by the renowned pop artist Keith Haring. The inaugural Pop Shop opened its doors in New York City in 1986 and operated until its closure in 2005; a subsequent location was launched in Tokyo but ceased operations in 1988. For Haring, the Pop Shop represented an extension of his artistic practice, designed to make his distinctive and celebrated imagery widely accessible during his lifetime and beyond through the Keith Haring Foundation. The entire interior of the store showcased Haring's creations, including murals that spanned from floor to ceiling. The Pop Shop's emblem featured a star enclosing the words "Pop Shop."
History
Template:Quote box Initially recognized for his chalk illustrations in the New York City subway, Keith Haring rose to international prominence following a solo exhibition at Tony Shafrazi Gallery in 1982. While he continued creating subway drawings, by 1984 his works were increasingly stolen due to their rising value and popularity within the art market. As demand escalated, only a limited audience could afford original pieces, prompting widespread production of unauthorized copies.
On April 19, 1986, Haring inaugurated the first Pop Shop at 292 Lafayette Street in Manhattan’s SoHo district. He explained two motivations for opening the store: it had been a personal aspiration since childhood, and he sought to combat widespread imitation by providing authentic examples of his work for public recognition. The architectural firm Moore & Pennoyer designed the retail space, while Haring personally painted its walls, floors, and ceilings. Due to limited square footage, the layout was optimized with only one sample of each product on display; customers would select items on a checklist which staff then retrieved from stock at a counter. Haring likened the Pop Shop to a Brookstone store and described it as his "version of fast food or fast art." Besides his own memorabilia, select products by other artists were also offered. Management was entrusted to Haring’s friend Bobby Breslau until Breslau's death in 1987.
Haring’s mentor and friend Andy Warhol was a strong advocate for the Pop Shop concept. Haring believed that the shop aligned ideologically with Warhol’s work and other conceptual or earth artists’ efforts by promoting broad public participation.
In January 1988, Haring partnered with Japanese film producer Kaz Kuzui and his American wife, director Fran Rubel Kuzui, to launch a Pop Shop in Tokyo’s Aoyama area. Photographer Tseng Kwong Chi documented numerous events surrounding this venture. However, due to underwhelming sales and widespread availability of high-quality forgeries in Tokyo, the shop closed by summer 1988. Upon closure, Haring gifted the painted shipping containers that formed part of the store’s structure to Berlin-based art publisher George Mulder. These containers were later restored and exhibited in Saint-Tropez, France in 2005.
The New York Pop Shop shuttered on August 28, 2005. Rising rent costs coupled with insufficient revenue led to its closure. Matthew Barolo, operations manager at the Keith Haring Foundation, indicated that resources would be better allocated toward other initiatives. Despite this, Pop Shop products continue to be distributed internationally through licensing agreements and exhibition-related projects. The Keith Haring Foundation maintains an online Pop Shop offering memorabilia. Additionally, the original Pop Shop ceiling was donated to and installed within the entryway of the New-York Historical Society.
In 2006, an exhibition titled Keith Haring: Art and Commerce was hosted at the Tampa Museum of Art. Later in 2009, a reconstruction of the shop featured prominently in London's Tate Modern exhibition Pop Life: Art in a Material World.