Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was a renowned American Neo-expressionist artist. He gained fame in the 1980s as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al Diaz, known for enigmatic messages.
Basquiat’s art moved beyond the streets, exhibited globally in the early 1980s. At just 21, he became the youngest artist in Documenta in Kassel, Germany. At 22, he exhibited at the prestigious Whitney Biennial in New York, later receiving a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1992.
His art explored dichotomies like wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. Combining poetry, drawing, and painting, Basquiat merged text and image, abstraction, figuration, and historical references with contemporary critique. His works featured social commentary, introspecting and connecting with the black community, while challenging power structures and racism.
Since his untimely death at 27 in 1988, Basquiat’s art has soared in value. In 2017, “Untitled” sold for a staggering $110.5 million, becoming one of the most expensive paintings ever purchased.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s short yet influential career left a lasting impact on the art world, with his unique vision and social commentary resonating with audiences today. His legacy as an innovative and groundbreaking artist continues to inspire and provoke thought.
13 October 2024 • Mark Westall
Gagosian to present Venus, a pairing of two rarely seen masterpieces from different millennia: Untitled (1982), a significant painting from Jean-Michel Basquiat’s acclaimed Modena series, is shown in dialogue with an Imperial Roman sculpture of the goddess Venus
2 April 2024 • Mark Westall
Get ready for a splash of 80s magic at Sotheby’s this May, as an enigmatic 1984 collaboration between Andy Warhol… Read More
21 March 2024 • Mark Westall
Gagosian to present Andy Warhol’s Long Shadow in Hong Kong coinciding with Art Basel Hong Kong.
6 February 2024 • Mark Westall
Gagosian to present Made on Market Street, the first exhibition focused exclusively on works that Jean-Michel Basquiat produced in Los Angeles…. Read More
18 January 2024 • Mark Westall
Just opened across Halcyon Gallery’s two Mayfair sites at 29 & 148 New Bond Street is an amazingly comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the life and work of American pop artist and cultural icon Andy Warhol.
13 July 2023 • Mark Westall
Angelina Jolie will rent Jean-Michel Basquiat’s New York apartment & studio for 8 years. The Manhattan property was where Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat lived and worked.
6 April 2023 • Mark Westall
Fondation Louis Vuitton- Basquiat x Warhol the Fondation continue its exploration of the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat
1 March 2023 • Mark Westall
HOTA (Home of the Arts) has opened the exhibition, Pop Masters: Art from the Mugrabi Collection, New York in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.
1 December 2022 • Guest
Basquiat’s legacy and influence are reexamined by those that knew him best in an intimate exhibition Jean Michel Basquiat King Pleasure© at Chelsea’s Starrett-Lehigh Building in New York which is open through January 1st 2023
18 November 2022 • Mark Westall
SIZED is to present In Motion: Andy Warhol 1974 – 1986, a curated exhibition of Andy Warhol photographs on view for three days from December 9th to 11th
17 November 2022 • Mark Westall
In 2023, from April 5th to August 28th, the Fondation will continue its exploration of the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, revealing, this time, his collaboration with Andy Warhol.
14 November 2022 • Mark Westall
Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s final studio and apartment which he lived and worked in from 1983 until his death in 1988 is available to rent.
21 October 2022 • Mark Westall
Christie’s has announced the top lot of the 21st Century Evening sale will be Sugar Ray Robinson by Jean-Michel Basquiat (Estimate on Request;… Read More
19 October 2022 • Mark Westall
Phillips has announced details surrounding the opening of its new Los Angeles outpost
30 May 2022 • Mark Westall
The New York Times reports that the F.B.I.’s Art Crime Team is investigating the authenticity of 25 Basquiat paintings on show at… Read More
28 February 2022 • Mark Westall
Phillips together with renowned entrepreneur and art collector Yusaku Maezawa, have announced the sale of Basquiat’s Untitled, 1982. At over sixteen feet wide… Read More
18 November 2021 • Mark Westall
Earlier this year as part of StockX’s category expansion art prints and collectables were launched with a multi-year partnership with… Read More
5 October 2021 • Mark Westall
This November, Christie’s New York is are to present Andy Warhol’s seminal portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat as a leading highlight of its 20th Century Evening Sale (estimate on request; in excess of $20 million)
16 June 2021 • Mark Westall
LiveArt has launched LiveArt Market to the public, the digital peer-to-peer marketplace that places control into the hands of sellers and buyers. LiveArt Market began limited, invitation-only trading last week and has already achieved sales approaching $5 million
27 April 2021 • Mark Westall
Christie’s have announced the addition of artistic titan Jean-Michel Basquiat’s monumental “skull” painting In This Case to its upcoming 21th Century Evening Sale at Christie’s New York on 11th May (estimate in excess of US$50 million).
9 March 2021 • Mark Westall
“I don’t think about art when I’m working. I try to think about life.” — Jean-Michel Basquiat A compact edition… Read More
15 January 2021 • Mark Westall
The Broad has announced Time Decorated: The Musical Influences of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a three-part video series dedicated to the famed New York City artist. The video… Read More
4 January 2021 • Tabish Khan
The top art books for the year ahead including Banksy, Basquiat and Emin.
10 November 2020 • Mark Westall
On the heels of Sotheby’s successful summer sales in May and June 2020, Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Day Auction is to present artworks by leading post-war and contemporary artists, including Helen Frankenthaler, Alexander Calder, Tom Wesselmann, Ed Ruscha, Albert Oehlen, Haring, Basquait and Yoshitomo Nara.
