THIS JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT RARE SWITZERLAND MUSEUM EXHIBITION LARGE HARDCOVER ART BOOK IS AN INCREDIBLY SPECIAL AND UNIQUE BOOK TO ADD TO YOUR LIBRARY COLLECTION. 

THE HARDCOVER ART BOOK WITH DUST JACKET IS PUBLISHED BY HATJE CANTZ VERLAG, A PUBLICATION OF THE BEYELER MUSEUM AG, PRINTED IN GERMANY IN 2011 ON THE OCCASION OF THE EXHIBITION AT THE FONDATION BEYELER IN BASEL SWITZERLAND. IT FEATURES AN EXPANSIVE MONOGRAPH SURVEY OF THE ARTWORKS OF THE ARTIST JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT. 

JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT ( 1960 - 1988 ) WAS BORN IN BROOKLYN NEW YORK IN 1960. HIS EARLY CREATIVE CAREER WAS AS THE STREET GRAFFITI ARTIST NICK NAMED " SAMO" IN THE LATE 1970'S ON NEW YORK CITY'S LOWER EAST SIDE. BY THE EARLY 1980'S WITH THE HELP OF HIS FRIEND ANDY WARHOL, BASQUIAT BEGAN TO MAKE HIS EMOTIONALLY CHARGED AESTHETICALLY ARRESTING NEO EXPRESSIONIST PAINTINGS. IN 1992 THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF ART HELD A MAJOR A RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION OF THE LIFE WORKS OF THIS GREAT AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY ARTIST AND MASTER OF SOCIAL COMMENTARY.

HIS WORK FOCUSED ON SUGGESTIVE DICHOTOMIES SUCH AS WEALTH VS POVERTY, INTEGRATION VS SEGREGATION, AND INNER VS OUTER EXPERIENCE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION. HE APPROPRIATED POETRY, DRAWING, PAINTING, & MARRIED TEXT AND IMAGE WITH ABSTRACTION AND FIGURATION. BASQUIAT'S WORKS HAD STRONG SOCIAL COMMENTARY AND DEEPER TRUTHS ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE POWER STRUCTURES OF RACISM, AND CRITICISM OF COLONIALISM AND SUPPORT FOR CLASS STRUGGLES.

PUBLISHED IN HONOR OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF BASQUIAT'S BIRTH, THIS BOOK FEATURES ESSAYS BY DIETER BUCHHART, GLEN O'BRIEN, FRANKLIN SIRMANS, AND ROBERT STORR AS WELL AS AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST BY BECKY JOHNSTON AND TAMRA DAVIS DATING FROM 1985, WHICH IS PRINTED HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME. IN ADDITION TO TRACING THE METEORIC CAREER OF THIS ARTIST, WHO DIED AT THE AGE OF JUST 28, IT ALSO SEEKS TO SOUND OUT HIS TRUE PLACE IN ART HISTORY TOLD THROUGH COMPELLING TEXT AND MORE THAN 300 ILLUSTRATIONS DOCUMENTING THE ARTIST'S LIFE AND ARTWORKS, MANY OF WHICH ARE RARELY PUBLISHED BEFORE.

THE RARE OUT OF PRINT LARGE FORMAT HARDCOVER EXHIBITION ART BOOK MEASURES 10" W X 12 1/4" H X 1" D, WITH 244 PAGES. IT FEATURES 334 COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS.

IT IS IN EXCELLENT NEW VERY CLEAN CONDITION WITH VERY LIGHT SIGNS OF HANDLING. IT HAS NEVER BEEN READ. THE PHOTO OF THE FRONT COVER IS OF THE ACTUAL BOOK FOR SALE, THE PHOTOS OF THE INTERIOR PAGES OF THE BOOK ARE FROM ANOTHER COPY OF THE SAME BOOK FROM OUR LIBRARY TO PRESERVE THE UNREAD NEW CONDITION OF THE BOOK FOR SALE. PLEASE SEE PHOTOS FOR CONDITION REFERENCE. IT IS NOW BEING OFFERED HERE FOR AN EXCELLENT PRICE.