With the recent news of Basquiat’s comeback, I think it is appropriate to discuss his artwork and what is coming next.
First of all, a little background on the artist. Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 22nd, 1960. He first started making graffiti pieces at a young age, then moved into street art and gained some popularity there. While still young, he was “discovered” by Andy Warhol who helped him get his work out to the public and introduce him to the art world. He achieved great success and fame during his lifetime but died under suspicious circumstances in 1988 at only 27 years old.
The comeback in question comes after Sotheby’s New York sold his 1982 “Untitled (Boxer)” for $16 million dollars in May of this year (2012).
There are many different reasons why Basquiat’s artwork is making a comeback. First of all, there is the simple fact that Basquiat himself is coming back into public view. Other than auction records, there has not been a lot of information about him circulating lately which makes it even more interesting that he has appeared again now. Also, with the recent rise in popularity of street art and graffiti as an art form
Nowadays, Basquiat is a name that most people have heard of but have no idea who he was or the mark he left on the art world. The meteoric rise of his fame is quite interesting to read about and the author does a good job not only making it interesting but also doing so with facts and quotes from Basquiats fellow artists.
The article focuses on Basquiats artwork and how his pieces have become highly collectible. The author even goes as far as to explain why his pieces are so collectible by explaining what makes them so special. It’s not just about basquiat being an African American artist or an artist that died young, but it’s because of how talented he was in creating these art pieces.
Basquiat has come back from the dead and is more popular than ever before. But what exactly did he do? Why is his work so valuable? If you want to find out then this article will be worth your time.
Today I was on the phone with a collector of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s art. A man named Alan Rappaport who has a collection of over 200 pieces in his private art museum in Chelsea, New York. The Museum is called ArtSpotR and it is also home to other well-known artists like Banksy and Damien Hirst.
I asked Mr. Rappaport about the future of Basquiat’s pieces. He says that more and more people are interested in collecting Basquiat’s works because they are becoming scarce. Within the next few years, he expects to see a substantial increase in the price of these paintings because their availability is becoming limited.
However, Mr. Rappaport also gave me a piece of advice: if you want to buy one of these pieces, you better buy it now while they’re still affordable. In 10 years, he predicts that they will be so rare that they will be impossible to afford! If you have been thinking about getting one of these pieces for your collection, now would be the best time to do so!
“To me, Basquiat represents the essence of New York City in the ’80s.”
That’s how Brooklyn painter Jon One described his inspiration for a series of paintings that brought Jean-Michel Basquiat back to the gallery circuit starting this past summer. Jon One was one of a handful of artists who helped breathe new life into the late artist’s legacy.
The exhibit was called “Basquiat vs. Basquiat,” and featured a range of styles from graffiti art to abstract to the neo-expressionist style that made Basquiat famous in the 1980s. They were more than just paintings, though; they were a way for Jon One, along with other artists, to celebrate and acknowledge their debt to Basquiat.
Oddly enough, Basquiat himself was not always accepting of his own influence on his peers, but these days he is considered an influence by everyone from Kanye West (in an interview earlier this year, Mr. West said he wanted to paint like Basquiat) to Jay-Z (whose latest album cover bears a striking resemblance to Basquiat’s work).
One of the other artists in the exhibit was Brooklyn-based Michael Anthony whose work has been compared with Basquiat’s since he
Museums, galleries and auction houses around the world have seen a resurgence in interest for work by the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
“The market for Basquiat has been on fire for several years now,” said David Norman, director of contemporary art at Bonhams auction house. “We’ve seen a remarkable increase in prices over the past 12 months.”
Norman said that a record was set at Bonhams when an untitled 1982 painting, which measures about 2 feet by 3 feet, sold for $5.5 million in December. It was purchased by an anonymous collector bidding by telephone. The previous record was $3.3 million, set in 2006 for another untitled painting from 1982.
Basquiat’s first studio sale, held at Christie’s in New York in 1984, lasted only eight minutes and featured eight paintings that were purchased for $200 each. The auction house later estimated those same paintings would be worth up to $1 million today.
When I was little, my parents owned a painting that was a huge source of pride for them. My father saw it in a small art gallery in New York, bought it on the spot and had it shipped to Canada. It was a picture of a man’s head, splattered across the canvas in violent reds and yellows.
The man’s name was Jean-Michel Basquiat, and back then he was just another up-and-coming artist in New York City. My parents were very proud of their acquisition; they loved the painting’s frenetic energy and bright colours. As much as I hate to admit it, I thought it looked like something you’d find in a kid’s bedroom.
But over time, Mr. Basquiat became one of the most famous artists of the 20th century—while his paintings became some of the most valuable pieces of art ever sold.
Last week, Sotheby’s auction house sold three Basquiats for more than $100-million (U.S.) combined, and an anonymous buyer paid $110-million for another at Christie’s last year (on top of $28 million for a 1982 Basquiat). That same buyer also shelled out $63 million for a 1988
