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. Luxuary 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 - Stain dimensions: 40 x 34 cm - Condition: Excellent (this work has never been framed or exhibited, and has always been stored in a professional art folder, therefore offered in perfect condition). The work will be carefully handled and packaged in reinforced cardboard. The shipment will be certified with a tracking number, operated by the best 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 Haitian accountant of respectable economic solvency 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 gifted teenagers, from which he was expelled for rebelliousness a year before graduating. Already in his youth he came into contact with the subculture of the big city, related to drug use and street gangs. In 1977, together with Al Díaz, he entered the world of graffiti, painting on subway cars and in the SoHo areas, a New York neighborhood where galleries proliferate. A year later he left school one year before finishing 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 himself decorated. He continued to be involved in graffiti; his writings and graffiti had a lot of poetic and philosophical charge, 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 false philosophy.” An article about SAMO’s street writing published in The Village Voice was the first hint 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. Also, romantically, he was involved with several women, one of the most well-known today was Madonna. Lower Manhattan was the area where they lived at the time, and in 1982 they began to spend more time together and go to parties in galleries. A topic that united them, she mentions in an interview: “She was a big fan of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.” In 1988 Paris and New York exhibitions were mounted, and in April of that same year he tried to abandon 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, in 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 publicity were priority factors for Basquiat, as had been for Andy Warhol or Julian Schnabel previously. Neo-expressionism gradually supplanted appropriationism, partly due to the economic vitality that pushed art prices higher, especially painting, and partly due to the support of gallerists and collectors. Criticism, however, was not unanimous in its assessment, and there was frequent condemnation of the neo-expressionist discourse lacking theoretical grounding. It was claimed that the art practiced by neo-expressionists lacked any political or social meaning, it was merely merchandise and, consequently, subject to market swings and fluctuations. Neo-expressionist painting was reduced to a consumer product and, as such, to a creatively disqualified and vulgar fact. (**) Basquiat began working on “Untitled” in early 1979. Unlike most of his pieces, which were completed with profusion 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 suspected that this young, inexperienced artist hesitated to complete the work because it surprised him, perhaps 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 faint facial expression contrasts with the vibrant colors suggesting abundant internal activity. Basquiat’s use of heads and skulls is deeply rooted in his identity as an African American and evokes African masks. “He developed a unique style, combining expressive and, at times, 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 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 memento mori, in which a skull symbolizes death.”

Estimación:150€

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