Installation view
Artworks © The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, photo by Douglas M. Parker Studio
Jean-Michel
Untitled, 1982
Acrylic, oilstick, spray paint, and collage on canvas, 68 ½ × 93 inches (174 × 236.2 cm)
© The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat
Gagosian Gallery is pleased to announce the exhibition of a selection of important works by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Born in 1960, Basquiat moved from his father's home to a life on the street at the age of eighteen. His early works, moving from public graffiti to oil on canvas, include painterly gestures with symbols such as automobiles, policemen, children's sidewalk games and buildings—all images reflective of his street environment. He also expressed an obsession with death by consistently depicting skeletal figures and mask-like faces. Along with the famed crowns and lettering, all of these symbols appear throughout his brief but highly productive career. Upon reflection, the work reveals an artistic statement that is cohesive and strong in expressing issues surrounding his tragically short life.
Basquiat first exhibited in Los Angeles at the Gagosian Gallery in 1982. He liked Los Angeles and was given a friendly reception by local collectors, prompting him to set up a studio in Venice Beach in 1983. His second L.A. show in 1984, and what would be his last exhibition on the West Coast, in 1986, were both at Gagosian Gallery as well. This 1998 showing marks the ten year anniversary of his death.
Gagosian director Jessica Beck speaks with Lee Mergner, author and publisher of JazzTimes, about Basquiat’s lifelong engagement with jazz on the occasion of “Bebop Revolution: JLCO with Wynton Marsalis,” two nights celebrating bebop and the genre’s influence on the painter at Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York.
Vincent Gardner, trombonist, composer, and arranger in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, speaks about the bebop genre and Jean-Michel Basquiat with the Quarterly’s Alison McDonald on the occasion of “Bebop Revolution: JLCO with Wynton Marsalis,” two nights celebrating bebop at Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York.
Jessica Beck addresses Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 trip to Italy, considering the effects of the country’s art and history on the young painter’s process and iconography. She focuses in particular on the painting Untitled (1982).
Join Gagosian for a conversation between director, producer, and writer Sophia Heriveaux and actor, director, and writer Roger Guenveur Smith inside the exhibition Jean-Michel Basquiat: Made on Market Street, at Gagosian, Beverly Hills. Heriveaux and Guenveur Smith both share a personal connection to Basquiat: Heriveaux is the artist’s niece and Guenveur Smith was one of his friends and collaborators. The pair discuss Basquiat’s work and legacy, as well as his lasting impact on contemporary art and culture.
The Spring 2024 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available with a fresh cover design featuring Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Lead Plate with Hole (1984).
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s sisters, Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux, met with filmmaker Tamra Davis, art dealer Larry Gagosian, and author and curator Fred Hoffman to reflect on their experiences with the artist during the 1980s in Los Angeles.
Megan N. Liberty explores artists’ engagement with notebooks and diaries, thinking through the various meanings that arise when these private ledgers become public.
Jenny Saville reveals the process behind her new self-portrait, painted in response to Rembrandt’s masterpiece Self-Portrait with Two Circles.
The Spring 2019 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring Red Pot with Lute Player #2 by Jonas Wood on its cover.
Fred Hoffman looks back on the creation of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Tuxedo (1983), examining the work’s significance in relation to identity and the hip-hop culture of the 1980s.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (L.A. Painting) (1982) was a game changer. Text by Derek Blasberg.
