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

Giclée print by Jean-Michel Basquiat (*) Reproduction of the work “Untitled (Skull)” (**) a piece created by Basquiat in 1981. Luxurious edition on high-grade Monte Carlo 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 - Mark 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 portfolio, thus offered in perfect condition). The work will be carefully handled and packaged in reinforced cardboard. The shipment will be sent with tracking, operated by the best shipping companies (UPS DPD DHL FedEx). The delivery 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 fractured family environment; his parents divorced and, because of this, he had to change schools many times. He studied at a private Catholic school, later at a public school, and finally, at 16, he enrolled in City-As-School, a school for talented adolescents, from which he was expelled, for rebellious behavior, a year before graduating. In his youth he came into contact with the urban subculture, related to drugs and street gangs. In 1977, together with Al Diaz, he entered the world of graffiti, painting on subway cars and in SoHo, the Manhattan neighborhood where art galleries proliferate. The following year he left school a year short of graduating 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 be involved in graffiti; his paintings and writings carried a lot of poetic and philosophical weight, but above all, satirical. The alias of his shared alter ego with Al Diaz was SAMO (short for “Same Old shit,” meaning “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 like “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 an interest in him. The artist had several relationships that influenced his work; one of the most significant was with artist Andy Warhol. In matters of romance, he was involved with several women; one of the best known today was Madonna. Lower Manhattan was where they lived at that time, and in 1982 they began to spend more time together and go to parties in galleries. A shared interest, she mentions in an interview: “I was a big fan of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.” In 1988 he settled exhibitions in Paris and New York, and in April of that same year he tried to overcome his addictions and retreated to his home in Hawaii. He returned to New York in June, announcing that he had freed himself from 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 hold more than 40 solo exhibitions and participate in around 100 group shows. Self-promotion and promotional publicity were, for Basquiat, priorities, as they had been for Andy Warhol or Julian Schnabel previously. Neo-expressionism came to dominate over appropriationism, partly due to the economic vigor that raised art prices to high levels, especially painting, and partly due to the support of gallerists and collectors. However, critics were not uniform in their assessment, and there was regular criticism of the neo-expressionist discourse lacking theoretical grounding. It was asserted that the art practiced by neo-expressionists lacked any political or social meaning, was merely merchandise, and thus 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 quickly, Untitled remained unfinished for several months, as Basquiat delayed its completion. The art historian Fred Hoffman describes 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, inexperienced artist doubted finishing the work because it took him by surprise, possibly even scared him, by the power and energy emanating from this unexpected image.” “Titled 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 faint 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 appeared 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 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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