Jean-Michel Basquiat

1960 - 1988
Born in 1960, in United States

Jean-Michel Basquiat, an American with a Haitian father, gained recognition as an artist in the 1980s. His rise to prominence was swift but his career was cut short. Between 1977 and 1980 he was a graffiti artist, tagging his mysterious, subversive messages with the name SAMO©. By 1980 he was frequenting artists such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Francesco Clemente, and abandoned graffiti for painting.

Biography

Buoyed by the energy of hip hop with its sampling, scratching and DJ culture, his practice drew on many influences such as Picasso, Penck, Schwitters, Dubuffet as well as Cobra movement, jazz and voodoo. His frame of reference expanded to include history and global literature, from Homer to Napoleon and Malcolm X. His style was characterised by a bold and sparing colour palette, and the use of symbols such as the crown and skull, as well as numbers and scientific formulas. Like palimpsests, his works feature layers of drawing, scratches, painting, collages of photocopies and objects. The chaotic complexity of his compositions reveals a spontaneous exuberance and a mastery of different materials and techniques, from acrylic to screen-printing, markers to sprays.

Bibliographic resources

Nuridsany, Michel. Jean-Michel Basquiat. Paris : Flammarion, 2015. (Grandes biographies).

Carron de la Carrière, Marie-Sophie ; Buchhart, Dieter ; O'Brien, Glenn... [et al.]. Basquiat : [exposition], musée d'art moderne, 15 octobre 2010 - 30 janvier 2011. Paris : Paris-Musées, 2010.

O'Brien, Glenn ; Bertoglio, Edo ; Maripol. New York beat : Jean-Michel Basquiat in downtown 81. Tokyo : Petit Grand Pub., 2001.

Marshall, Richard ; Hebdige, Dick ; Kertess, Klaus. Jean-Michel Basquiat : [exhibition, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, October 23, 1992 - February 14, 1993 ; Houston, Menil Collection, March 11 - May 9, 1993 ; Iowa, Des Moines Art Center, May 22 - August 15, 1993 ; Alabama, Montgomery Museum of Fine arts, November 18, 1993 - January 9, 1994]. New York : Whitney Museum of American Art, 1992.

Millet, Bernard ; Valabrègue, Frédéric ; Piguet, Philippe. Jean-Michel Basquiat : une rétrospective : [exposition, Musée Cantini, Marseille, 4 juillet - 20 septembre 1992]. Marseille : Musées de Marseille ; Paris : RMN, 1992.

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In The Collection

*Napoleonic Stereotype Circa 44*, 1983

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Pop & Music

Exhibition of the Collection

From 3 June 2015 to 4 January 2016

The collection is constantly evolving. This third presentation of the Collection of the Fondation's artworks, with popist lines, including music and sound, gather more than twenty contemporary artists.

The Collection: A Sports Meeting

Exhibition of the Collection

From 4 May 2024 to 9 September 2024

In resonance with the passage of the Olympic flame, the Fondation presents in the famous building of Frank Gehry, "The Collection: A Sports Meeting".
A selection of works from our Collection is on display at the second level of the building. In their polyphony, they offer a poetic and offbeat look around the theme of sport. From Galleries 9 to 11, the works of five French and international artists are brought together.

Artists

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Liquids (water bottles, etc.) are not permitted within the building.

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