Jean-Michel Basquiat

Galerie Bruno Bischofsberger, Zürich
Cheim & Read, New York
Sale: Christie's, Los Angeles, 7 June 2000, Lot 99
Private Collection, Connecticut
Galerie Vedovi, Brussels
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Vienna, Kunsthaus, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1999, illustrated

Richard D. Marshall and Jean-Louis Prat, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris 1996, Vol. II, p. 144, no. 9, illustrated in colour
Richard D. Marshall and Jean-Louis Pratt, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris 2000, Vol. II, p. 250, no. 9, illustrated in colour

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is slightly brighter and more vibrant in the original. The golden yellows in the background are lighter and creamier in the original Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is very faint frame rubbing scattered at intervals along all four edges and very light handling marks to the extreme lower right edge and to the centre of the extreme left edge. No restoration is apparent under ultraviolet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The giant, disembodied head in Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled (Head), 1986 is one of the most powerful singular examples of a motif that would underpin Basquiat's work for the rest of his career. Born to Haitian and Puerto Rican parents and growing up in the cultural crucible of Brooklyn, Basquiat was fascinated by his heritage and its artistic legacy. The head in the present work clearly evinces his knowledge of African reliquary masks with its haptic emphasis on eyes and teeth. Shamanistic, it resonates with an aggression that is part violent, part spiritual. Basquiat's inspiration was additionally rooted in the Cubism of his great hero Picasso. However, whereas Picasso's primitivism provided an exotic escape route from the constrictions of European academicism, Basquiat's adoption of this language corrected the impersonal coolness of late modernism while simultaneously expressing overt contemporary angst.    

Dominating the centre of the canvas, a fiercely expressive head - part skull, part self-image - stares fixedly out of the picture plane, one of the boldest symbols in Basquiat's iconographic repertoire.  This is painting unrestrained by convention and constitutes the crystallised eulogy to a young and brilliant spirit at the moment that he launched his groundbreaking art practice onto the New York art world. 

Surrounding this totemic head are wildly chaotic splashes of gold coloured paint, a technique which recalls the infamous action paintings of Jackson Pollock and graffiti art.  Paramount to this painting is the insatiable originality and vigour resident in each brushstroke. From the self-taught Basquiat, this painting is directly rooted in both iconography and spirit, and provides us with a glimpse into his extraordinary world: spontaneous, disorganised, and irrational.