JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT 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.
THIS BEAUTIFUL VOLUME WAS PUBLISHED ON THE OCCASION OF THE EXHIBITION " JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT " AT GAGOSIAN GALLERY WEST 24TH STREET, NEW YORK. IT FEATURES CANDID HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS, INSTALLATION VIEWS, FOLDOUTS, AND MORE THAN SIXTY FULL COLOR PLATES, PROVIDING INVALUABLE INSIGHT INTO THE LIFE AND WORK OF THIS SEMINAL ARTIST. THIS COMPREHENSIVE PUBLICATION CELEBRATES BASQUIAT'S WORK OVER THE COURSE OF HIS BRIEF BUT METEORIC CAREER. ART HISTORIAN ROBERT FARRIS THOMPSON PROVIDES A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF SOME OF THE ARTIST'S MOST ICONIC MASTERPIECE PAINTINGS, SITUATING THEM WITHIN BOTH HIS OEUVRE AND THE LARGER LANDSCAPE OF TWENTIETH-CENTURY ART. ROUNDING OUT THE GORGEOUS BOOK, THE LATE POET AND CRITIC RENE RICARD OFFERS A RARE GLIMPSE INTO THE PRIVATE WORLD OF BASQUIAT, RECOUNTING THEIR SOMETIMES FRAUGHT FRIENDSHIP, FROM THEIR FIRST MEETING IN 1981 TO BASQUIAT'S DEATH IN 1988.
THE RARE OUT OF PRINT 1ST EDITION LARGE FORMAT HARDCOVER EXHIBITION ART BOOK MEASURES 10" W X 12 1/4" H X 1" D, WITH 208 PAGES. IT FEATURES 110 OFFSET LITHOGRAPH PRINT ILLUSTRATIONS, INCLUDING 5 MULTIPAGE CENTER FOLD-OUTS, AND AN ILLUSTRATED LIST OF WORKS. ALL ARTWORK BY BASQUIAT COPYRIGHT THE ESTATE OF JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT.
IT IS IN EXCELLENT " LIKE NEW " VERY CLEAN CONDITION WITH VERY LIGHT SIGNS OF HANDLING. PLEASE SEE PHOTOS FOR CONDITION REFERENCE. IT IS NOW BEING OFFERED HERE FOR AN EXCELLENT PRICE.