Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) - Untitled (Skull)...

Giclée print of Jean-Michel Basquiat (*) Reproduction of the work “Untitled (Skull)” (**) a piece created by Basquiat in 1981. Luxurious edition on Monte Carlo high‑grade watercolor paper (300 g/m2). Print authorized by Artestar New York. Copyright of the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Includes Certificate of Authenticity (COA). Specifications: - Support dimensions: 50 x 44 cm - Stain dimensions: 40 x 34 cm - Condition: Excellent (this work has never been framed or exhibited, and has always been kept in a professional art folder, and is thus offered in perfect condition). The artwork will be carefully handled and packed in reinforced cardboard packaging. Shipping will be trackable, certified, operated by leading transport companies (UPS, DPD, DHL, FedEx). The shipment will also include full insurance for the final value of the work with full reimbursement in case of loss or damage, at no cost to the buyer. (*) Jean-Michel Basquiat was the eldest of the three children of Matilde Andrades and Gerard Basquiat. His father was a financially solid Haitian accountant and his mother a Puerto Rican graphic designer of great prestige in her profession. Jean-Michel grew up in a torn family environment; his parents divorced and he had to change schools many times. He studied at a private Catholic school, then at a public school and finally, at 16, he enrolled in City-As-School, a school for gifted teenagers, from which he was expelled for rebelliousness a year before graduation. Already in his youth he came into contact with the city’s subculture, tied to drug use and street gangs. In 1977, together with Al Díaz, he entered the world of graffiti, painting on subway cars and around SoHo, the New York neighborhood where art galleries proliferate. The following year he left school one course short of graduating from high school and left home to live for two years on the streets, in abandoned buildings or with his friends in Lower Manhattan, surviving by selling postcards and T-shirts that he decorated himself. He continued to work in graffiti; his paintings and writings carried a lot of poetic and philosophical weight, but above all satirical. The pseudonym of his shared alter ego with Al Díaz was SAMO (short for “Same Old Shit,” i.e., “the same old crap,” with which they signed their tags and graffiti with cryptic messages). The use of this name was decisive in his life. These murals carried inscriptions such as “SAMO saves idiots” or “SAMO ends religious brainwashing, the politics of nothingness and fake philosophy.” An article about SAMO’s street writing published in The Village Voice was the first sign that the art world was taking notice of him. The artist had several relationships that influenced his work; one of the most significant was with artist Andy Warhol. Likewise, in his romantic life, he related to several women; one of the most well-known today was Madonna. Lower Manhattan was the area where they lived at that time; in 1982 they began to spend more time together and go to parties at galleries. One thing that connected them was that she said in an interview, “I was a big fan of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.” In 1988, exhibitions were installed in Paris and New York, and in April of the same year he tried to leave his addictions and retreated to his home in Hawaii. He returned to New York in June, announcing that he had freed himself from his addictions, but on August 12, 1988, at the age of 27, he died of a heroin overdose, becoming the most successful visual artist in the history of Afro-descendant art. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn. Throughout his brief but intense artistic career he would have held more than 40 solo exhibitions and participated in around 100 group shows. Self-promotion and advertizing appeal were priorities for Basquiat, as they had previously been for Andy Warhol or Julian Schnabel. Neo-expressionism gradually displaced appropriationism, partly due to the economic boom that elevated art prices, especially painting, to new heights, and partly thanks to the support of gallery owners and collectors. However, criticism was not unanimous in its assessment, and it was common to accuse neo-expressionist discourse of lacking theoretical grounding. It was claimed that the art practiced by neo-expressionists had no political or social meaning; it was merely merchandise and, therefore, subject to market fluctuations. Neo-expressionist painting was reduced to a consumer product and, as such, a creatively disqualified and vulgar fact. (**) Basquiat began working on “Untitled” in early 1979. Unlike most of his pieces, which were completed rapidly in a few days, Untitled remained unfinished for several months, as Basquiat delayed its completion. The art historian Fred Hoffman’s description alludes to a vision Basquiat may have conceived in the studio: “One can only speculate about the reasons for this hesitation, but several people close to the artist suspect that this young and inexperienced artist hesitated to finish the work because it surprised him, possibly even frightened him, by the force and energy emanating from this unexpected image.” “Untitled” represents the inner and outer dimensions of a head, existing between life and death. The eyes are apathetic, as if the head had been lobotomized. The restrained facial expression contrasts with the vibrant colors that suggest abundant internal activity. Basquiat’s use of heads and skulls is deeply rooted in his identity as African American and evokes African masks. “He developed a unique style that combined expressive and sometimes violent brushstrokes with words, symbols, and various materials to address social issues.” The painting was presented as “Untitled” in Basquiat’s first American solo exhibition, at Annina Nosei Gallery in 1982. When it was acquired a few months later, the word “Skull” was added to the title, which has accompanied it ever since, through numerous exhibitions. Hoffman suggests that the title change was “the result of confusing the work with the more traditional iconography of the memento mori, in which a skull symbolizes death.”

Estimación:150€

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