Keith Haring subway drawings saved by Italian artist Paolo Buggiani in Cagliari exhibition

Italian artist Paolo Buggiani rescued over 5,000 subway drawings by Keith Haring from Manhattan subway stations between 1980 and 1985, preserving them before they were covered by new advertisements. Buggiani photographed, peeled off walls, or collected the drawings from the ground, sometimes enlisting workers to remove them. A new exhibition at EXMA in Cagliari, previously shown at Museo Medici Riccardi in Florence, displays 15 original Haring works alongside 30 pieces by Buggiani, including photographs of New York performances and installations, some retouched for 3D effect, and his signature metamorphic metal sculptures of crocodiles, snakes, Icarus, and the Minotaur. Haring used black cardboard panels and white chalk to create his iconic imagery—flying saucers, barking dogs, crawling babies, roaring TVs—influenced by William Burroughs' cut-ups and Aboriginal, Indian, and primitivist art, aiming to critique consumerism, gender discrimination, and oppressive politics. In one of his last interviews, Haring described the urgency: 'It was a continuous line, very strong graphically, subject to a time limit. I had to work as fast as possible, without corrections, careful not to get caught.' The show is curated by Roberta Vanali.