Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) - Untitled (Skull)...

Giclée printing of Jean-Michel Basquiat (*) Reproduction of the work “Untitled (Skull)” (**) a piece created by Basquiat in 1981. Luxury edition on Monte Carlo high-quality watercolor paper (300 g/m2). Authorized print 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, and is therefore offered in perfect condition). The work will be carefully handled and packed in reinforced cardboard. Shipping will be insured with tracking number, operated by the leading 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 financial solvency and his mother a Puerto Rican graphic designer of great prestige in her profession. Jean-Michel grew up in a troubled 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 at City-As-School, a school for academically gifted adolescents, from which he was expelled for defiance a year before graduating. In his youth he came into contact with the urban subculture, 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 Manhattan neighborhood where art galleries proliferate. A year later he left school a year before graduating from 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 devote himself to graffiti; his paintings and writings carried a lot of poetic and philosophical, but mainly satirical, content. The pseudonym of his alter ego shared with Al Díaz was SAMO (short for “Same Old Shit,” i.e., “the same old crap,” under which they signed their tags and graffiti with cryptic messages. The use of this name was decisive in his life. These murals bore inscriptions such as “SAMO saves fools” or “SAMO ends religious brainwashing, the politics of nothingness and the 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. Additionally, in the sentimental sphere, he had relationships with several women; one of the most famous today was Madonna. Lower Manhattan was the area where they lived at the time; in 1982 they began spending more time together and going to parties in galleries. A topic that united them: she mentioned in an interview, “I was a big fan of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.” In 1988 he staged exhibitions in Paris and New York, and in April of that year he tried to overcome his addictions and moved back to his home in Hawaii. He returned to New York in June, announcing that he had liberated himself from addictions, but on August 12, 1988, at the age of 27, he died from 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 advertising appeal were priorities for Basquiat, as they had been for Andy Warhol or Julian Schnabel before him. Neo-expressionism came to dominate over appropriationism, partly thanks to the economic vigor that raised art prices, especially painting, to new heights, and partly thanks to the support of galleries and collectors. Critics, however, were not unanimous in their assessment, and it was common to denounce the lack of theoretical basis in neo-expressionist discourse. It was argued that the neo-expressionist art they practiced lacked any political or social meaning, it was merely merchandise and, therefore, subject to market fluctuations. Neo-expressionist painting was reduced to a consumer product and, as such, a creatively disqualified and vulgar fact. (**) Basquiat began work on “Untitled” in early 1979. Unlike most of his pieces, which were completed with great 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 suspect that this young and inexperienced artist hesitated to complete the work because it startled him, possibly even scared him, by the power and energy emanating from this unexpected image.” “Untitled” represents the internal and external dimensions of a head, existing between life and death. The eyes are apathetic, as if the head had been lobotomized. The subdued facial expression contrasts with the vibrant colors that suggest abundant internal activity. Basquiat’s use of heads and skulls is deeply rooted in his identity as African American and evokes African masks. “He developed a unique style, combining expressive and sometimes violent brushstrokes with words, symbols, and various materials to address social issues.” The painting was first shown as “Untitled” in Basquiat’s first American solo exhibition at Annina Nosei Gallery in 1982. When it was acquired a few months later, the word “Skull” was added to the title, which has accompanied it since then through numerous exhibitions. Hoffman suggests that the title change was the “result of confusing the work with the more traditional iconography of the memento mori, in which a skull symbolizes death.”

Estimate:$167.22

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