Basquiat is back! Jean Michel Basquiat, a legendary New York artist active in the 1980s has a large-scale exhibition up of his work at the Barbican Gallery in London. This exhibition brings together more than 100 works from the International Art Gallery and from private collections, including his early street-graffiti works that catapulted him into stardom, as well as works by artists Andy Warhol and Keith Haring among others. Through rare footage, photos, and files- the audience can see the full evolution of Basquiat, his imagination, inner thoughts, and spirit.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Basquiat developed his artistic talent from an early age. He dropped out of High School, hanging around the Manhattan slums and practicinghis graffiti on the street, tagging SAMO ( an acronym for Same Old Shit, created with his high school friends, that became a character of its own) around the city. The Village Voice picked up on SAMO in a weekly review, drawing sudden attention to the character and to Basquiat. Eventually, as Basquiat split from these friends, he began to graffiti "SAMO IS DEAD", ending his involvement with the character.
But Basquiat's works in the streets had attracted a lot of attention from the art world, and after 1980, he began to exhibit his artworks in galleries. Rene Ricard officially introduced Basquiat to the art world in the authoritative magazine, "Artforum" in 1981, with a profile on the artist titled "The Radiant Child", and Basquiat's work astonished New York's contemporary art and pop culture scene. He had just been selected for the 7th German Literature Exhibition, the Unite States Whitney Biennale, and throughout the next seven years his art career flourished in full color. Throughout this period he was in contact with many notable artists, including Cy Twombly, Franz Kline, Jean Dubuffet, Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, collectively spurred on by competetive and collaborative energy from each other.
But as if fate was envious of his talent, Basquiat died of a heroin overdose at the young age of 27, creating a lasting shock in the contemporary art community, leaving behind his brilliance and the regret of his untimely end. Even or especially now, his art is making waves. In May of 2017, thirty years after his passing, his masterpiece "Untitled" set an unprecendented sale record for American paintings at the New York Sotheby's auction. it was sold to Japanese Art collector Yusaku Maezawa for 110 million US dollars (approximately 33.4 billion NT), and so Basquiat's name is stronger than ever. The show this year at London's Barbican Gallery is at an unparalleled scale, and though there are no opportunites there to buy his works, you still have the chance to witness his remarkable style.
Exhibition date: September 21, 2017 - January 28, 2018
Venue: London Barbican Art Gallery
(Top Image) Untitle,1982,Courtesy Jean-Michel Basquiat/ Sotheby’s
Ref:2017/05/18 NY Sotheby’s, Hammer Price 110,487,500 USD
(Image 2) Jean-Michel Basquiat wearing an American football helmet, 1981. Photo: © Edo Bertoglio, courtesy of Maripol. Artwork: © The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York
(Image two on the right) Photo © The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Courtesy Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Photo: Studio Tromp, Rotterdam
(Image two right) Untitled (fallen angel ),1981,© The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York.
