BASQUIAT. BOOM FOR REAL
In the late 1970s, Jean-Michel Basquiat teamed up with Al Diaz to write enig颅matic graf颅fiti state颅ments across the city under the pseu颅donym SAMO漏. Soon he was drawing in his own blood, collaging base颅ball cards, creating his own clothing, and painting on doors, window frames, and enor颅mous home-made canvases. Today, Basquiat (1960鈥1988) is recog颅nised as one of the most signif颅i颅cant artists of the 20th century. Having come of age in the post-punk under颅ground art scene in Lower Manhattan, he conquered the art world and gained wide颅spread inter颅na颅tional recog颅ni颅tion, becoming the youngest artist ever to partic颅i颅pate in docu颅menta in Kassel in 1982.
Basquiat鈥檚 raw, vibrant imagery is matched by a star颅tling erudi颅tion, seen in the frag颅ments of bold, capi颅talised text that abound in his works. These bear witness to his ency颅clopaedic inter颅ests and his expe颅ri颅ence as a young artist with no formal training. More than thirty years since Basquiat鈥檚 last major exhi颅bi颅tion in Germany, the SCHIRN is presenting a major survey devoted to this Amer颅ican artist, organ颅ised in collab颅o颅ra颅tion with Barbican Art Gallery, London. The exhi颅bi颅tion is also the first to focus on Basquiat鈥檚 rela颅tion颅ship to music, text, film and tele颅vi颅sion, situ颅ating the artist鈥檚 formi颅dable talents within a broader cultural context.
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In the late 1970s, Jean-Michel Basquiat teamed up with Al Diaz to write enig颅matic graf颅fiti state颅ments across the city under the pseu颅donym SAMO漏. Soon he was drawing in his own blood, collaging base颅ball cards, creating his own clothing, and painting on doors, window frames, and enor颅mous home-made canvases. Today, Basquiat (1960鈥1988) is recog颅nised as one of the most signif颅i颅cant artists of the 20th century. Having come of age in the post-punk under颅ground art scene in Lower Manhattan, he conquered the art world and gained wide颅spread inter颅na颅tional recog颅ni颅tion, becoming the youngest artist ever to partic颅i颅pate in docu颅menta in Kassel in 1982.
Basquiat鈥檚 raw, vibrant imagery is matched by a star颅tling erudi颅tion, seen in the frag颅ments of bold, capi颅talised text that abound in his works. These bear witness to his ency颅clopaedic inter颅ests and his expe颅ri颅ence as a young artist with no formal training. More than thirty years since Basquiat鈥檚 last major exhi颅bi颅tion in Germany, the SCHIRN is presenting a major survey devoted to this Amer颅ican artist, organ颅ised in collab颅o颅ra颅tion with Barbican Art Gallery, London. The exhi颅bi颅tion is also the first to focus on Basquiat鈥檚 rela颅tion颅ship to music, text, film and tele颅vi颅sion, situ颅ating the artist鈥檚 formi颅dable talents within a broader cultural context.
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