Description
BUY WITH CONFIDENCE. GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC AND AS DESCRIBED OR YOUR MONEY BACK! Today we are excited to offer for sale a truly wonderful vintage 1982 mixed media on canvas Neo-Expressionist Graffiti painting. This stunning, powerful, and colorful piece is the epitome of fine Graffiti art. This fabulous piece is in the manner of Jean-Michel Basquiat. A bit of info on the artist: “Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an influential American artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of SAMO, an informal graffiti duo who wrote enigmatic epigrams in the cultural hotbed of the Lower East Side of Manhattan during the late 1970s, where rap, punk, and street art coalesced into early hip-hop music culture. By the 1980s, his neo-expressionist paintings were being exhibited in galleries and museums internationally. The Whitney Museum of American Art held a retrospective of his art in 1992. Basquiat’s art focused on “suggestive dichotomies”, such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. He appropriated poetry, drawing, and painting, and married text and image, abstraction, figuration, and historical information mixed with contemporary critique. Basquiat used social commentary in his paintings as a “springboard to deeper truths about the individual”, as well as attacks on power structures and systems of racism, while his visual poetics were acutely political and direct in their criticism of colonialism and support for class struggle. He died of a heroin overdose at his art studio at the age of 27. On May 18, 2017, at a Sotheby’s auction, a 1982 painting by Basquiat depicting a black skull with red and black rivulets (Untitled) set a new record high for any American artist at auction, selling for $110.5 million. Basquiat’s art has inspired many in the hip hop music community such as Jay-Z.” The mixed media painting, expertly done on canvas, and mounted to a streamlined museum-quality black and gilt frame, and depicts an abstract figure holding up both arms, and surrounded by what appears to be barbed wire, with a vivid and intense, flame-like, orange background accentuated by a multitude of bright and vibrant colors. The painting is pulsating with energy and movement. This piece is one of two paintings by the same artist that were acquired by our consignor from an estate in New York City. The Basquiat estate no longer authenticates artwork by the artist so this piece is being sold as “in the manner of” and un-authenticated. Art experts will take note of the fine craftsmanship and technique displayed in this piece, along with the traditional signature crown on back of canvas. Painting presents beautifully and is in very good vintage condition; canvas is bright and clean with minimal wear to edges; gilt frame has very minimal wear/scuffing to corners. This is truly a wonderful and rare opportunity to acquire a fabulous piece of fine art that will make a crowning addition to any well-curated modern art collection…A special piece for a special buyer! Dimensions (w/ frame): 61-1/2″ in height, 48-1/4″ in width, depth 2″ NOTE: Due to the size and value of this piece crating is recommended. If this service is desired by the buyer, we will hire a crater on your behalf and you will pay for it directly to the crating service. This cost will be in addition to the cost of the painting. We will also assist in hiring a shipper if you’d like. We do not charge for this assistance. Free local pickup is also an option. SHED2/14/K/R