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 Combining poetry, drawing, and painting, Basquiat merged text and image, abstraction, figuration, and historical references with contemporary critique.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 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 • Adam Davidson
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
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)
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).
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.
28 August 2020 • Mark Westall
Dear Keith will present 140+ works of art and objects from Haring’s personal collection, all on offer from the Keith Haring Foundation – an organization established by the artist shortly before his death in 1990 from HIV/AIDS-related causes. Haring’s collection features works gifted to, purchased by and traded with Haring among friends and artists in his community, including Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf, and many more.
17 July 2020 • Mark Westall
This week on FADTV we have Jean Michel Basquiat.
18 April 2019 • Mark Westall
In an unprecedented, world premiere exhibition, the National Gallery of Victoria will present the work of two of the most significant and influential artists of the late twentieth century in Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat
24 March 2019 • Mark Westall
Nahmad Contemporary is showing Jean-Michel Basquiat | Xerox. Curated by Basquiat scholar Dieter Buchhart, the exhibition is the first concentrated examination of the extraordinary body of work that the artist created using Xerox photocopies as his principal medium and compositional focal point
4 January 2019 • Mark Westall
The release of 100 white helium-filled balloons will mark the opening of Robert Fraser’s Groovy Arts Club Band as a tribute to the anniversary of the You Are Here opening
5 December 2018 • Mark Westall
BASTIAN is to present Andy Warhol Polaroid Pictures as its inaugural exhibition at the gallery’s new London space
26 September 2018 • Mark Westall
Announced yesterday on Instagram, the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat will release a new 18-colour screen-print of the artist’s 1982-83 painting Boxer Rebellion, published by Flatiron Editions.
8 June 2018 • Mark Westall
From opposite ends of the 20th century, and opposite sides of the world, the lives and works of Egon Schiele and Jean-Michel Basquiat are fascinating for their fleetingness and their intensity.
19 April 2018 • Mark Westall
BOOM FOR REAL: THE LATE TEENAGE YEARS OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT follows Basquiat’s life pre-fame and how New York City, the times, the people and the movements surrounding him formed the artist he became
