Tiempo de juego de basquiat biography

The case and the legend

Despite this overwhelming success, Basquiat's life was marked by personal struggles, particularly against drug addiction.

He was 27 years old. It was also the highest price for a painting by Basquiat and by a Black artist. Discover the artworks Madonna still holds onto from Basquiat, and the ones he allegedly ‘took back’ out of spite. Jean measured his skill against all he deemed strong, without prejudice as to their taste or age."

Paintings

Three years of struggle gave way to fame in 1980 when Basquiat's work was featured in a group show.

It explores themes related to exploitation, poverty and oppression while also illuminating art history through references to masters such as Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci or African masks.

In one of his most famous works, "Untitled" (1981), Basquiat uses childlike lines to depict a stylized human figure crowned with a crown, which has become one of the recurring symbols of his work.

Basquiat incorporates terms such as "Dizzy Gillespie" or "Boxer" into his compositions, which reflect his personal heroes, often African-American figures.

Collaboration with Warhol and international success

Basquiat's encounter with Andy Warhol in the 1980s marked a crucial turning point in his career.

As he delved deeper into his creative side, his mother strongly encouraged him to pursue his artistic talents.

Basquiat first attracted attention for his graffiti in New York City in the late 1970s, under the name "SAMO." Working with a close friend, he tagged subway trains and Manhattan buildings with cryptic aphorisms.

In 1977 Basquiat quit high school a year before he was slated to graduate.

From a young age, he was encouraged by his mother to engage in art and regularly visited New York museums. With a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat was immersed in a rich blend of cultures that profoundly shaped his artistic identity. The circumstances surrounding his death have sparked debate for years.

While there aren’t many surviving examples of his early work, it’s clear that popular art, cartoons, and African-American culture played a significant role in shaping his creative vision from the very beginning.

A Turning Point: Recovery and Artistic Awakening

When Basquiat was seven, he was in a car accident that kept him bedridden for a long time.

These experiences of living between different cultures and environments played a crucial role in his development as an artist. Was it simply an accident, or was there something more sinister?

His mother, Matilde Andrades, was of Puerto Rican descent and his father, Gérard Basquiat, was a Haitian accountant. With a Haitian-American father and a Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat's diverse cultural heritage was one of his many sources of inspiration.

A self-taught artist, Basquiat began drawing at an early age on sheets of paper his father, an accountant, brought home from the office.

However, his style defies rigid classification. His influence can be found in the works of many contemporary artists, be they painters, musicians or writers. Basquiat paved the way for a generation of diverse artists who explore similar themes based on their own experiences.

His work remains strikingly relevant, challenging social and racial inequalities while celebrating the power and resilience of marginalized cultures.

Soon, his paintings came to be adored by an art-loving public that had no problem paying as much as $50,000 for a Basquiat original.

His rise coincided with the emergence of a new art movement, Neo-Expressionism, ushering in a wave of new, young and experimental artists that included Julian Schnabel and Susan Rothenberg.

In 2017, a Japanese billionaire broke a record when he bought Basquiat's “Untitled,” a 1982 painting of a skull, for $110.5 million at a Sotheby’s auction.

Basquiat and Warhol

In the mid-1980s, Basquiat collaborated with famed pop artist Warhol, which resulted in a show of their work that featured a series of corporate logos and cartoon characters.

On his own, Basquiat continued to exhibit around the country and the world.

Isolated, he became addicted to heroin. He combines painting, drawing and writing in dynamic compositions, often inspired by political, social and cultural themes. He sold sweatshirts and postcards featuring his artwork on the streets before his painting career took off. In 1986, he traveled to Africa for a show in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.