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Jean Michel Basquiat, no coa, private collection, medium: mixed media measurements: 29"WX38"H framed, good condition Biography: Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al Diaz, writing enigmatic epigrams all over Manhattan, particularly in the cultural hotbed of the Lower East Side where rap, punk, and street art coalesced into early hip-hop music culture. By the early 1980s, his paintings were being exhibited in galleries and museums internationally. At 21, Basquiat became the youngest artist to ever take part in Documenta in Kassel, Germany. At 22, he became one of the youngest to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial in New York. The Whitney Museum of American Art held a retrospective of his artwork in 1992.
Basquiat's art focused on dichotomies such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. He appropriated poetry, drawing, and painting, and married text and image, abstraction, figuration, and historical information mixed with contemporary critique. He used social commentary in his paintings as a tool for introspection and for identifying with his experiences in the black community, as well as attacks on power structures and systems of racism. In October 1979, at Arleen Schloss's open space called A's, Basquiat showed his SAMO montages using color Xerox copies of his works.[42] Schloss allowed Basquiat to use the space to create his "MAN MADE" clothing, which were painted upcycled garments.In November 1979, costume designer Patricia Field carried his clothing line in her upscale boutique on 8th Street in Greenwich Village.Field also displayed his sculptures in the store window.[46]
When Basquiat and Diaz had a falling out, he inscribed "SAMO IS DEAD" on the walls of SoHo buildings in 1980.n June 1980, he appeared in High Times magazine, his first national publication, as part of an article titled "Graffiti '80: The State of the Outlaw Art" by Glenn O'Brien. Later that year, he began filming O'Brien's independent film Downtown 81 (2000), originally titled New York Beat, which featured some of Gray's recordings on its soundtrack. All authorship of items in this catalog are described according to the following terms:
Signed [Artist Name] : In cases in which the signature is legible in the lot, this work is described as-is with no attributions given.
By [Artist Name] : The work is by the artist.
Attributed to [Artist Name] : The work may be ascribed to the artist on the basis of style, but there may be some question as to actual authorship.
In the manner of [Artist Name] : The work was executed by an unknown hand, but was designed deliberately to emulate the style of the artist.
After [Artist Name] : The work was executed by an unknown hand, but is a deliberate copy of a known work by the artist.
Circle of [Artist Name] : A work of the period of the artist showing his influence, closely associated with the artist but not necessarily his pupil.
Follower of [Artist Name]: A work by a pupil or a follower of the artist (not necessarily a pupil).
American, 19th century: This work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).
Condition
It is the buyer's responsibility to inspect each lot and deem their own opinions on condition, description, provenance, and validity BEFORE purchasing.
All descriptions are visual opinions based on the auction house's experience and do not warrant as a guarantee.
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