In Keith Haring, Ludo (Plate 2) 1985, transforms the familiar elements of the board game into a dynamic meditation on rhythm, interaction, and the exuberance of play. The work radiates with bold primary colors and sharply defined black lines, creating a sense of both order and motion. Figures, rendered in Haring’s signature style, appear to spring to life from the structured geometry of the board, suggesting that even within systems and rules, energy and human connection disrupt rigidity and bring vitality.

The composition feels alive with movement: Haring’s anthropomorphic forms lean, stretch, and twist in relation to the game’s pathways, as if embodying both players and pieces simultaneously. The overlapping and intersecting shapes evoke the layered nature of experience—strategy and chance, competition and cooperation, victory and loss. By embedding his figures within the logic of the gameboard, Haring cleverly blurs the distinction between life and play, underscoring how both are governed by interaction, unpredictability, and shared momentum.

As the second plate in the Ludo Suite, this print deepens the portfolio’s exploration of games as metaphors for human relationships. The playful palette draws viewers in, but beneath the surface lies a more profound reflection: the balance between structure and spontaneity, and the ways in which collective participation transforms something as simple as a game into a vibrant act of community.

Keith Haring, Ludo Suite Portfolio, 1985
Keith Haring’s Ludo Suite (1985) is a dynamic portfolio of five screenprints that brilliantly merges the energy of play with the artist’s unmistakable visual language. Inspired by the classic board game Ludo, Haring transforms the familiar forms of dice, playing pieces, and game structures into bold, graphic compositions alive with his signature dancing figures and radiant lines. The suite reflects Haring’s lifelong fascination with games, symbols, and shared cultural touchstones—recasting them into universal metaphors for joy, struggle, chance, and connection.

Across the five works, Haring fuses vibrant primary colors with his iconic black outlines, creating an aesthetic both instantly accessible and profoundly symbolic. Each print feels like a self-contained celebration of movement and interaction, yet together the suite resonates like a choreography of human experience: the push and pull of competition, the randomness of fate, and the unity that comes from shared participation.

Produced in the mid-1980s—at the height of Haring’s career and international acclaim—the Ludo Suite captures his ability to elevate the ordinary into something monumental. Just as the game of Ludo brings people together across cultures and generations, these works embody Haring’s mission of art as a universal language: playful, powerful, and deeply human.

Today, the portfolio is recognized as one of Haring’s most joyful and inventive series, reflecting not only his mastery of screenprinting but also his gift for transforming simple imagery into lasting symbols of collective spirit.

Keith Haring Ludo 1
Keith Haring Ludo 2
Keith Haring Ludo 3
Keith Haring Ludo 4
Keith Haring Ludo 5

Created in 1983,  Ludo (Plate 2) is hand-signed by Keith Haring (Reading, 1958 – New York, 1990) in pencil in the bottom right margin and numbered from the edition of 80.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
Keith Haring Ludo (Plate 2), 1985 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work).

1. Littmann, Klaus. Keith Haring: Editions on Paper 1982-1990 (The Complete Printed Works). Germany: Hatje Cantz Publishers, 1993. Listed and illustrated on pgs. 46 a.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:
Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Keith Haring Ludo (Plate 2), 1985 is presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.