Jean Michel Basquait’s work is a vibrant and powerful expression of the times in which he lived. Born to a Haitian father and a Puerto-Rican mother in Brooklyn, New York on December 22, 1960, Jean Michel Basquait’s life was both an amalgamation of America’s urban culture and a reflection of the world beyond his own experience. His parents were not wealthy, but they were hardworking people who instilled in him a sense of personal responsibility and drive.
Basquait attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan while pursuing a budding interest as an artist. After high school he worked several jobs before he found success as an artist and began selling his work out of the back of a truck. It was at this time that he began to experiment with graffiti art, considered by many to be the foundation of Basquait’s style. JMB, as he was called by his friends, soon became recognized as one of the leading members of the graffiti movement.
This exhibition is dedicated to Jean Michel Basquait’s unique vision and unparalleled style as well as his influence on contemporary art. Artists like Julian Schnabel, Andy Warhol, Jean Michel Basquait and Rene Ricard established themselves as some of New York’s most innovative
Jean Michel Basquait was born in Brooklyn on December 22, 1960. He started his art career when he was 17 years old. At the time, Jean Michel Basquait sold his artwork on the sidewalks and streets of New York City for $5 a piece. Jean Michel Basquait died of an overdose on August 12, 1988 at age 27.
Jean Michel Basquait began to sell his artwork for thousands of dollars per painting after he worked as a postman and elevator operator. His paintings are often called “comix” or “paintings-as-poems.” Jean Michel Basquait is known as one of the most important artists of our time.
JMB’s work is very colorful, which is often compared to comic books and children’s books because of the bright colors used. JMB used hand-lettering and would write words across his paintings. Jean Michel Basquait’s style often incorporated the use of oil paint and acrylic paint but also sometimes included sculpture and collage.
Jean Michel Basquiat used his paintings to express himself through words and color.*
Jean-Michel Basquait (1960 – 1988) was an American artist born in Brooklyn, New York. He was a neo-expressionist painter who overcame a troubled and impoverished childhood to become one of the most influential artists of his generation.
In 1984, he had his first solo art show at the Annina Nosei Gallery, in New York. His work was included in the 1985 “New York/New Wave” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. In 1986, he had a major exhibition at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery, where he met Andy Warhol; it led to a friendship and working relationship between the two men.
Basquait’s paintings are typified by dense fields of text and ambiguous imagery; they are populated by cryptic allusions to graffiti and hip hop culture as well as to art history. His work can be seen as an exploration of race, class, ethnicity and social status, as well as an investigation into painting’s capacity to bear witness to cultural experience.”
Jean Michel Basquait’s body of work is a reflection of life experiences, and the thoughts and emotions that he was subjected to during each stage of his life. Jean Michel Basquait’s artwork seems to be an extension of himself as an individual, and his personal feelings regarding the world and its surroundings. The choice of colors in his artwork, which are mostly black, white and red color hues, are used in a manner that will elicit strong emotional responses from the viewer.
One of the most popular pieces by Jean Michel Basquiat is “Untitled (Boxer)” which features a black-colored boxer with his arms up in the air looking as if he is about to knock out his opponent. This piece reflects on Jean Michel Basquait’s own feelings regarding life, love, freedom and struggles that he has had to endure throughout his life. The colors used in this piece also reflect an emotional response from Jean Michel Basquait as well. Black color hues represent evil, hate and death while white color hues represent purity, peace and freedom. Red color hues in “Untitled (Boxer)” represents passion and energy.
Jean Michel Basquait’s artwork is not only a reflection of him as an individual but it also reflects on the society
Jean Michel Basquait (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent.
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York City, Basquait first achieved fame as a graffiti artist. He later became a prominent figure in the 1980s New York City art scene and also achieved international recognition for his painting. The Whitney Museum of American Art held a retrospective of his art in 1992.
Basquiat’s art focused on “suggestive dichotomies”, such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner city versus outer space. These themes related to specific personal issues that the artist had observed throughout his life in socio-economic, racial and political contexts. He appropriated poetry, drawing, and painting, and married text and image, abstraction with figuration, European old master techniques with graffiti writing. He died of a heroin overdose at his art studio at age 27.
Paintings by Basquiat have sold for up to $50 million at auction; his works are among the world’s most expensive paintings.*
Jean Michel Basquait, an artist who was part of the graffiti movement in the 1970s and 1980s, is one of the most influential artists of our era. His work has influenced many people in the art world, including those in the contemporary art movement. Having a background in graffiti art and being involved with New York City’s downtown scene of the late 1970s, Jean Michel Basquait began exhibiting his work at various galleries after he had been discovered by Andy Warhol. Jean Michel Basquait died from an overdose at just 27 years old in 1988, but his art still lives on.
These paintings are part of a series of portraits made by Jean Michel Basquiat and have a very distinct style that makes them easily recognizable as being his work. This particular piece is a portrait of his friend Al Diaz who was also a graffiti artist and another member of this famous group called SAMO©. The painting depicts Diaz wearing a suit and tie and has his face painted black with an abstract pattern in white. The portrait shows Diaz holding up a sign that says “Art” while he is looking out towards the viewer.
This painting has a unique style that is unlike anything else that I have seen before. It really captures what I can only describe as being part