Untitled, 1983
Red fat pencil on paper, signed, dated and titled in the centre
56.5 x 37.5 cm
PROVENANCE Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris
Collection privée, Paris
EXHIBITION Michel Basquiat, Peinture, dessin, écriture, Musée-galerie de la Seita, Paris, from 17 December 1993 to 26 February 1994.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Catalogue of the exhibition Jean-Michel Basquiat, Peinture, dessin, écriture, Musée-galerie de la Seita, Paris, from 17 December 1993 to 26 February 1994, reproduced on the back cover
Basquiat's work reflects the way in which the counterculture of graffiti in the early 1980s became an artistic phenomenon recognized by critics and celebrated by the general public. Basquiat has skillfully linked a multitude of traditions, practices and heterogeneous styles in his art to create a unique visual collage. His work derives directly from his urban origins and Afro-Caribbean heritage. Basquiat was born in 1960 in Brooklyn to a Haitian father, a renowned accountant with whom he had a difficult relationship, and a Puerto Rican mother who was sensitive to art but emotionally fragile. He left home at the age of seventeen and became known in the art world as the graffiti artist SAMO (for "Same Old Shit"), a fictional character who earned his living by selling a false religion.
In 1983, when he signed the work presented here, Jean-Michel Basquiat was already at the height of his glory. But this work is reminiscent of his debut on the streets of Manhattan. Here, the colourful lines of the artist's signature convey the liveliness of his painting. In the absence of a wall, they fully inhabit the white surface of the paper. Nevertheless, the message is far removed from SAMO's and, by a simple signature, tells the whole story of the duality present in the work of this artist who has become a celebrity at the beginning of this decade. Shown for the second time by the Larry Gagosian Gallery, it was one of the youngest artists ever
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