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Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Biography

Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist who gained fame as a pioneer of neo-expressionism. He began as a graffiti artist under the pseudonym SAMO and later gained international recognition for his expressive paintings that combined text, symbolism, and social critique, particularly regarding racism and inequality.

Early life and beginnings

Born in New York City to Haitian-Puerto Rican parents, he was a gifted child in his youth, speaking several languages, but dropped out of high school and began living as a homeless artist, selling handmade cards and printed clothing.

A mountain of graffiti expression

He created graffiti with Al Diaz under the pseudonym SAMO in lower Manhattan, which launched his artistic career and caught the attention of the art community. Soon after, he began exhibiting his work in galleries and creating experimental music.

Career and recognition

Basquiat quickly achieved success in the 1980s by presenting his unique vision of African-American culture, history, and contemporary inequalities. He collaborated with Andy Warhol, exhibited in numerous prestigious exhibitions, and his works are valued at millions of dollars.

Style and symbolism

His work is characterized by a collage of texts and images, references to African American icons, street culture, jazz, and the history of science. Motivated by his own identity and social experiences, he explored black identity in America and expressed social critique through art.

Nationality

American

Categories

contemporary painting, Graffiti, Neo-expressionism, street art

Themes

Black identity, African-American history and culture, social inequality, colonialism, street culture, abstraction, figuration, poetry and text integration, political and racial commentary

Landmark exhibitions and awards

  • 1982

    Participation in Documenta in Kassel

    One of the youngest artists presented at the prestigious Documenta exhibition.

  • 1992

    Retrospektywa w Whitney Museum

    Establishment of one of the first major exhibitions of his work in an American museum.

  • 1981

    First solo exhibition in the USA

    Debut at the Annina Nosei Gallery in New York, which contributed to his rise to fame.

  • 1983

    The first solo exhibition in Italy

    Exhibition at the Emilio Mazzoli Gallery in Modena.

Art works

Portrait of Shannon Dawson

Portrait of Shannon Dawson

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1977
Untitled

Untitled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1977
And The Day Divides The Night

And The Day Divides The Night

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1977
Untitled

Untitled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1978
Untitled

Untitled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1978
Rose Head

Rose Head

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1978
The Comic Book (Series of 8 Drawings)

The Comic Book (Series of 8 Drawings)

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1978
Untitled (Authenticated)

Untitled (Authenticated)

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1978
Head of a man crowned with a star

Head of a man crowned with a star

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1978
Untitled

Untitled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1978
Untitled (Sans titre)

Untitled (Sans titre)

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1979
Untitled (Sans titre)

Untitled (Sans titre)

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1979
Untitled

Untitled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1980
Untitled

Untitled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1980
La Hara

La Hara

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Ashes

Ashes

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Bird on Money

Bird on Money

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Fishing

Fishing

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
God, Law

God, Law

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Gringo Pilot (Anola Gay)

Gringo Pilot (Anola Gay)

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Skull

Skull

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Head

Head

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Helmet

Helmet

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Helmet

Helmet

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Irony of the Negro Policeman

Irony of the Negro Policeman

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Jimmy Best…

Jimmy Best…

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Net Weight

Net Weight

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Per Capita

Per Capita

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Poison Oasis

Poison Oasis

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Pork Sans

Pork Sans

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Red man

Red man

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Rice and Chicken

Rice and Chicken

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Untitled

Untitled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1981
Slave Auction

Slave Auction

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Untitled

Untitled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Untitled

Untitled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Untitled (Gem Spa)

Untitled (Gem Spa)

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
All Colored Cast (Part III)

All Colored Cast (Part III)

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Baby Boom

Baby Boom

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Baptism

Baptism

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Black Tar and Feathers

Black Tar and Feathers

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Boxer

Boxer

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Boy and dog in a Johnnypump

Boy and dog in a Johnnypump

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Cabeza

Cabeza

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Charles the First

Charles the First

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
CPRKR

CPRKR

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Dog

Dog

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Dos Cabezas

Dos Cabezas

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Head of a Fryer

Head of a Fryer

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Jackson

Jackson

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Jawbone of an Ass

Jawbone of an Ass

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Leonardo da Vinci’s Greatest Hits

Leonardo da Vinci’s Greatest Hits

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Maid from Olympia

Maid from Olympia

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Mostly Old Ladies

Mostly Old Ladies

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Native Carrying Some Guns, Bibles, Amorites on Safari

Native Carrying Some Guns, Bibles, Amorites on Safari

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Untitled (Plaid)

Untitled (Plaid)

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Obnoxious Liberals

Obnoxious Liberals

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Olive Oil

Olive Oil

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Philistines

Philistines

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Piscine Versus the Best Hotels

Piscine Versus the Best Hotels

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Price of Gasoline in the Third World

Price of Gasoline in the Third World

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Profit I

Profit I

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Ribs, Ribs

Ribs, Ribs

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Santo versus Second Avenue

Santo versus Second Avenue

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Self-Portrait as a Heel, Part Two

Self-Portrait as a Heel, Part Two

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Six Crimee

Six Crimee

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
St. Joe Louis Surrounded Snake

St. Joe Louis Surrounded Snake

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
The Guilt of Gold Teeth

The Guilt of Gold Teeth

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Three Quarters of Olympia Minus the Servant

Three Quarters of Olympia Minus the Servant

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Tuxedo

Tuxedo

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Two Heads on Gold

Two Heads on Gold

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Untitled

Untitled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
Portrait of Andy Warhol

Portrait of Andy Warhol

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1982
50 cent Piece

50 cent Piece

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Ascent

Ascent

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Bishop

Bishop

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Brother’s Sausage

Brother’s Sausage

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Crown

Crown

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Dog Leg Study

Dog Leg Study

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Dwellers in the Marshes

Dwellers in the Marshes

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Eyes and Eggs

Eyes and Eggs

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
FALSE

FALSE

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Formless

Formless

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Hollywood Africans

Hollywood Africans

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Hollywood Africans in Front of the Chinese

Hollywood Africans in Front of the Chinese

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Horn Players

Horn Players

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
In Italian

In Italian

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
In this Case

In this Case

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Jesse

Jesse

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
King Alphonso

King Alphonso

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
King Brand

King Brand

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
La Colomba

La Colomba

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Large Body of Water

Large Body of Water

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Leeches

Leeches

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Liberty

Liberty

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Mace

Mace

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Mitchell Crew

Mitchell Crew

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Monticello

Monticello

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Napoleon Stereotype as Portrayed

Napoleon Stereotype as Portrayed

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Notary

Notary

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Olympic

Olympic

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Pelptic Ulcer

Pelptic Ulcer

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Replicas

Replicas

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Roast

Roast

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Skin Head Wig

Skin Head Wig

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Snakeman

Snakeman

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Techu-Anpu

Techu-Anpu

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Television and Cruelty to Animals

Television and Cruelty to Animals

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
The Nile

The Nile

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Titian

Titian

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Unbleached Titanium

Unbleached Titanium

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Undiscovered Genius

Undiscovered Genius

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta

Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Wolf Sausage

Wolf Sausage

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
History of the Black People

History of the Black People

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1983
Created Equal

Created Equal

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Aboriginal

Aboriginal

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Earth

Earth

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Flexible

Flexible

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Gold Griot

Gold Griot

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Grillo

Grillo

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Logo

Logo

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Max Roach

Max Roach

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Melting Point of Ice

Melting Point of Ice

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Sienna

Sienna

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Trumpet

Trumpet

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Wine of Babylon

Wine of Babylon

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1984
Glenn

Glenn

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1985
J’s Milagro

J’s Milagro

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1985
Now’s The Time

Now’s The Time

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1985
Gri Gri

Gri Gri

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1986
Jim Crow

Jim Crow

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1986
To Repels Ghosts

To Repels Ghosts

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1986
Self Portrait

Self Portrait

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1986
It Hurts

It Hurts

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1986
After Puno

After Puno

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1987
Caucasian, Negro

Caucasian, Negro

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1987
Eroica

Eroica

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1987
Gravestone

Gravestone

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1987
King Pleasure

King Pleasure

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1987
Light Blue Movers

Light Blue Movers

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1987
Pegasus

Pegasus

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1987
Riddle Me This, Batman

Riddle Me This, Batman

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1987
To Be Titled

To Be Titled

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1987
Victor

Victor

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1987
Eroica I

Eroica I

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1988
Eroica II

Eroica II

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1988
Exu

Exu

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1988
Riding with Death

Riding with Death

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1988
The Dingoes That Park Their Brains with their Gum

The Dingoes That Park Their Brains with their Gum

  • Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Year: 1988

Artists

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