The most unprecedented Basquiat exhibition awaits you in New York. The great icon returns to his hometown with the most intimate and personal retrospective seen so far.
Also the one that opens a new perspective on the artist, since of the 200 pieces more than 80% will come to light for the first time.
Time seems to have passed for the art of Jean Michel Basquiat . His denunciation of racial conflicts, police brutality or the objectification of women could very well have been painted yesterday.
Timeless works that, however, said goodbye to their author more than three decades ago.
33 years after the death of Jean Michel Basquiat , his name resonates more strongly than ever in his hometown. The reason? His family has been in charge of organizing this exhibition with 200 works and personal objects, practically all of them unpublished.
The recreation of the artist's studio and the mythical Palladium nightclub that he frequented Without a doubt, they are the two great protagonists of this exhibition.
But do not stay with the superficial, the real gem is that the Basquiat family has taken care of it , offering an intimate view of the artist as only they could do it.
Recreation in the Jean-Michel Basquiat King Pleasure© exhibition.
It is, in fact, Jean-Michel's sisters, Jeanine and Lisane, who would curate this exhibition made up of 200 pieces, of which 177 had never come to light before.
"We wanted to get ahead his work and personality , in a way that only his family can do, for people to immerse themselves, "says Lisane herself. Thus, Jean-Michel Basquiat King Pleasure © is" an experiential and multidimensional celebration of Jean-Michel's life " she adds.
MEMORIES OF A CHILDHOOD
Paintings, drawings, multimedia presentations, ephemeral objects and artifacts make up this retrospective that seeks to tell the story of the icon from the close perspective of his family and friends.
The Basquiat exhibition in New York opened its doors on April 9 and can be seen through September 5 at the Starrett-Lehigh Building , in the Chelsea neighborhood. Although it is already rumored that it may extend a little more in time.
The three Basquiat brothers.
There will be no canvases like In This Case, which was auctioned a little over a year ago for 93 million dollars, but there will be memories of his beginnings in graffiti and the New York underground, almost childish sketches, paintings never seen before and details of his childhood in Brooklyn and Puerto Rico.
As Jeanine points out: “There have been many exhibitions of Jean-Michel's work, but never narrated from the perspective of the family : Jean-Michel as a child, man, son and brother”.
A complete circle that, by the way, born during the pandemic Well, "since we were all locked up, we said: You know what? Maybe now is the right time," adds the sister and one of the expo's curators.
One of the rooms in the Jean-Michel Basquiat King Pleasure© exhibition.
IN HIS GREAT JONES STUDIO
The Tanzanian architect David Adjay has been in charge of designing the exhibition, among whose highlights is the recreation of Basquiat's studio on Great Jones Street.
I would be your friend Andy Warhol who, precisely, rent to Basquiat this space in the bohemian Lower Eastside. Chaotic, this place where music and television resounded while Jean-Michel worked, was very present in the retina of the sisters.
Recreation of Basquiat's study.
Marveling at the world created by his brother, they did not hesitate to bring him back as they remember him.
A) Yes, tables covered in paint tubes , wine glasses, books and movies , with background music playing the jazz, soul and disco music that Basquiat liked, invite you to discover the artist's creative process.
As if he had never left there, the work Dry Cell, a huge painting with a yellow background with the figure of a baboon painted in the middle, considered the last of his career and that he gave to his father , complete the scene.
LETS THE MUSIC SOUND
When he was not in the studio, Jean-Michel would go out to enjoy good music and the nightlife of New York, like the Mudd Club (accompanied by Keith Haring) or Danceteria (together with his friend Madonna).
He too would spend entire evenings in a VIP room of the mythical Palladium nightclub, which he frequented with his friend Andy Warhol or Grace Jones.
Recreation of the VIP room in the Palladium nightclub with Basquiat murals.
It is The Michael Todd Roo room that has been recreated in the King Pleasure exhibition. And the main reason for the choice lies mainly in the fact that here the artist created two murals spectacular.
“We really want people to have the opportunity to see her creativity, get into her process and be inspired,” says Lisane, whose voice can be heard in some of the videos and stories from family and friends. sharing Basquiat anecdotes prepared for the occasion.
'Jawbone of an Ass' (1982).
THE STORY BEHIND THE ICON
Born in Brooklyn on December 22, 1960, the Haitian-Puerto Rican grew up in an environment that defended creativity, culture , the music and the connection with the neighborhood where they lived.
It goes without saying that this childhood would be fundamental in the later work of the artist. In fact, both Prospect Park and the Botanical Gardens, Brooklyn Library and Museum they would be active and constant sources of inspiration for the Basquiat children.
After the separation of their parents, the three brothers would move to the His mother's native Puerto Rico , where they would spend two years.
However, Jean-Michel would return to New York in 1976, aged 17. Here his relationship with his father would not be the most ideal, leading the young artist to leave home to achieve what he already had clear: pursue art as a profession . And succeed.
Jean Michel Basquiat in 1982.
Unstoppable and self-taught, Basquiat would soon forge relationships with artists like Andy Warhol, gallery owners like Annina Nosei , musicians like madonna or photographers like Michael Halsband. Key names that would help set the tone for a career that he would exploit in the eighties.
Today the label graffiti SAMO It runs inherent to the artist's trajectory. Also the first and successful exhibitions of him in galleries, when he tells the story that he returned to his father's house in a limo , proving to himself and his family that he had that success he once went for.
His sisters still remember when they began to see his name on television programs, in music, in the art history exam... and even when AT&T representatives asked them if they were related.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (World Famous Vol. 1. Thesis), 1983.
Individual exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles in 1982, in addition to being the youngest of the 176 artists exhibited at Documenta 7 in Kassel They finished consecrating a milestone that left too soon.
On August 12, 1988 "The story was cut short at that moment in a person's life where he begins to investigate who he is and to solve problems of childhood and adolescence," confesses Lisane when speaking of the death, at just 27 years old, of the icon.
That is why this sample is directed with special effort to the youngest audiences. "We want them to see Jean-Michel in themselves and for him to be completely accessible to those who have felt intimidated in the past going to a museum ”, Jeanine explains.
Poster for the new Basquiat exhibition with photography by Christopher Makos.