Jean-Michel BasquiatJean-Michel Basquiat, Now’s the Time, 1985/2021
About the Item
- Creator:Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 - 1988, American)
- Dimensions:Height: 24.41 in (62 cm)Width: 24.41 in (62 cm)
- More Editions & Sizes:Open edition Price: $701
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Manchester, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2261213479752
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Emerging from the New York City street-art scene, Jean-Michel Basquiat would become one of the most significant artists of the 20th century as he mixed hand-scrawled text, vibrant color, gestural brushwork and themes of social commentary in a prolific output of Neo-Expressionist paintings. Although his pieces always retained the improvisational energy of graffiti, Basquiat used deceptively uncomplicated motifs such as crowns and professional boxers to honor the majesty and power of Black men and place himself in that lineage. Today, Basquiat’s art is among the most expensive in the world, with his paintings regularly fetching tens of millions of dollars at auction.
Born in Brooklyn to a Haitian-American father and Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat’s parents treated him to regular visits to New York City museums and nurtured his early talent for drawing cartoons. When he was hit by a car while playing in the street, Basquiat’s mother gave him a copy of the lushly illustrated medical reference book Gray’s Anatomy. Later, human bones and body parts such as skulls and rib cages would prove potent as subject matter for his provocative and spirited visual explorations of social issues as well as his own vulnerability and the struggles he faced as a Black artist.
As a teenager, Basquiat spray-painted city bridges with friend Al Diaz, and their “SAMO” tag caught the eyes of local artists. He left home before he was 20, selling hand-painted sweatshirts and postcards in Lower Manhattan. Because Basquiat was homeless — sleeping in parks and girlfriends’ apartments — he couldn’t afford proper canvases, and instead transformed found materials, such as old doors and windows, with paint and layered paper. The works vividly juxtaposed a street-art style with forms inspired by Abstract Expressionism.
Basquiat’s first public exhibition was “The Times Square Show” in 1980, a landmark event for artists experimenting with the boundaries between the galleries and the streets, with pieces by Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, Kenny Scharf and Kiki Smith. His art soon garnered critical acclaim as well as the attention of collectors. Basquiat’s first solo show was at Soho’s Annina Nosei Gallery, in 1982, with another that year at Larry Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles. His star continued to rise with multiple exhibitions in Europe, a 1983 feature in the Whitney Biennial and inclusion in a 1984 exhibition of painting at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. But he found that racist stereotypes persisted in press coverage of him, even as his profile expanded, and friends contend that he was exploited by collectors and art dealers. He battled a heroin addiction for years, and at the age of 27, Basquiat died from an accidental drug overdose on August 12, 1988.
Although it mainly spanned from 1980 to 1988, Basquiat’s career in visual art involved hundreds of paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints and other works. This included collaborations with Andy Warhol, with whom he created a series of paintings between 1983 and 1985. Basquiat’s art has been exhibited in almost every major art museum in the world, and in 2017 his 1982 Untitled painting was sold for $110.5 million at a Sotheby’s auction.
Find a collection of original Jean-Michel Basquiat art on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Manchester, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mecca, 1982By Jean-Michel BasquiatLocated in Manchester, GBJean-Michel Basquiat, Mecca, 1982 Monte Carlo 300gsm watercolour paper. This premium paper made on a traditional cylinder mould machine by St Cuthbert's Mill in Somerset where they have been making fine papers on the same site since the 1700's. They are the only commercial paper mill in England to still use this paper-making process Image size: 79 x 80cm Paper size: 99 x 100cm During the 1980s, New York was a central hub for underground artists, hence Jean-Michel Basquiat's depiction of the empire state building in his version of 'Mecca'. Basquiat also situated his personal motif, the three point crown, directly above the word 'Empire', representing his sudden rise to fame as his artwork was propelled from the streets of downtown New York to high end art...Category
1980s Neo-Expressionist Interior Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mecca, 1982 (Framed)By Jean-Michel BasquiatLocated in Manchester, GBJean-Michel Basquiat, Mecca, 1982 (Framed) Monte Carlo 300gsm watercolour paper. This premium paper is made on a traditional cylinder mould machine by St Cuthbert's Mill in Somerset where they have been making fine papers on the same site since the 1700's. They are the only commercial paper mill in England to still use this paper-making process Paper size: 99 x 100cm Framed size: 103 x 104cm During the 1980s, New York was a central hub for underground artists, hence Jean-Michel Basquiat's depiction of the Empire State Building in his version of 'Mecca'. Basquiat also situated his personal motif, the three point crown, directly above the word 'Empire', representing his sudden rise to fame as his artwork was propelled from the streets of downtown New York to high end art...Category
1980s Neo-Expressionist More Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Jean-Michel Basquiat, In Italian, 1983/2021By Jean-Michel BasquiatLocated in Manchester, GBJean-Michel Basquiat, In Italian, 1983/2021 Lithograph print on Monte Carlo 300gsm watercolour paper framed in a sustainably sourced black ash with acrylic glazing. Image size: 66...Category
2010s Neo-Expressionist Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph
- Jean-Michel Basquiat, Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown) 1983/2021 (Framed)By Jean-Michel BasquiatLocated in Manchester, GBJean-Michel Basquiat, Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown) 1983/2021 (Framed) Monte Carlo 300gsm watercolour paper. This premium paper is made on a traditional cylinder mould machine...Category
1980s Neo-Expressionist Interior Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Jean-Michel Basquiat, Dustheads, 1982/2021By Jean-Michel BasquiatLocated in Manchester, GBJean-Michel Basquiat, Dustheads, 1982/2021 Lithograph print on Monte Carlo 300gsm watercolour paper framed in a sustainably sourced black ash with acrylic glazing. Image size: 47 ...Category
2010s Neo-Expressionist Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph
- Guy Gee, Zimbabwe (medium)Located in Manchester, GBGuy Gee, Zimbabwe (medium) Hand-engraved print on 350gsm on G.F Smith card 31 x 35 cm (12 1/5 x 13 4/5) Frame included Edition of 75 Each artwork by Guy had been digitally reimag...Category
2010s Contemporary Interior Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Whirlwind 1979, paper, lithography, 59x46 cmLocated in Riga, LVWhirlwind 1979, paper, lithography, 59x46 cm Ivars Poikans 1952. Riga Ivars Poikāns works in painting, graphics, book illustration, cinema art. Born on O...Category
1980s Neo-Expressionist Figurative Prints
MaterialsPaper, Lithograph
- Different Places, Hardback monograph (Hand signed and inscribed by Sean Scully)By Sean ScullyLocated in New York, NYSean Scully Different Places (hand signed and inscribed by Sean Scully), 2015 Limited Edition hardback monograph (hand signed and inscribed to Nadine in felt tip pen on the title pag...Category
2010s Neo-Expressionist Abstract Prints
MaterialsPaper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
- From Portfolio "Twilight" with Karin SzekessyBy Paul WunderlichLocated in Kansas City, MOPaul Wunderlich From Portfolio "Twilight" with Karin Szekessy Year: 1971 Medium: Color Lithograph Edition: 125 Size: 33 x 25 in. Publisher: A.A.A., New ...Category
1970s Neo-Expressionist Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph
- "Circus, " Color Lithograph on Paper signed by Constantin TerechkovitchBy Constantin TerechkovitchLocated in Milwaukee, WI"Circus" is an original color lithograph on japon nacre paper by Constantin Terechkovitch. The artist signed the piece lower right, and wrote the edition (EA) in the lower left. Thi...Category
1970s Neo-Expressionist Prints and Multiples
MaterialsLithograph
- "Comme une Rose Sur l'Ecune des Vagues, " Color Litho signed by Theo TobiasseBy Théo TobiasseLocated in Milwaukee, WI"Comme une Rose Sur l'Ecune des Vagues" ("Like a Rose on the Waves") is an original color lithograph by Theo Tobiasse. The artist signed the piece in the lower right and wrote the ed...Category
1990s Neo-Expressionist Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- "Adam Eats Eve in the Evening" Original Lithograph signed by Stephanie AstrinskyBy Stephanie AstrinskyLocated in Milwaukee, WI"Adam Eats Eve in the Evening" is an original black and white lithograph by Stephane Astrinsky. This surreal lithograph evokes a biblical story as well as elements of horror. 9 1/4...Category
1980s Neo-Expressionist Figurative Prints
MaterialsLithograph