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拍品专文
Created on a formative visit to Modena, Italy, in 1981, the present work is an animated and effusive vision from Jean-Michel Basquiat. Across a large cream surface, Basquiat illustrates a medley of motifs drawn from both Classical antiquity and his contemporary world. A fluted column topped with a laurel wreath—a nod to ancient Greco-Roman architecture—stands next to a roadworks barricade, the clash of old and new evoking the layered histories of the city. Rendered in Basquiat’s characteristic oilstick, the palette is vivid, each colour bursting off the paper with vivacious intensity. A trio of yellow faces and an alien-like green head gather over the scene, like figures on a billboard. The picture holds what critic Cathleen McGuigan referred to as the ‘seemingly contradictory forces’ that define so much of Basquiat’s art: ‘control and spontaneity, menace and wit, urban imagery and primitivism’ (C. McGuigan, ‘New Art, New Money’, New York Times, 10 February 1985, p. 20). It has been held in the same private collection for almost three decades.
In the wake of his participation in the now legendary Times Square Show in 1980, Basquiat was invited by the curator Diego Cortez to exhibit at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in Queens. New York/New Wave opened in 1981, featuring more than twenty of Basquiat’s drawings and paintings, which were installed alongside works by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Robert Mapplethorpe, among others. Basquiat’s contribution was enthusiastically received, and Cortez began to discuss the organisation of a future exhibition with Emilio Mazzoli, whose gallery was located in Modena. That spring, Mazzoli came to New York and, after viewing Basquiat’s most recent compositions, bought several works. The plan for a solo show at Galleria Mazzoli quickly came together.
In May, Basquiat travelled to Modena. It was the first time he had been to Europe. He made drawings and paintings there, showing his art under his tag SAMO: the reverse of the present work is inscribed ‘SAMO © MODENA 1981’. Italy must have been fascinating for an artist so transfixed by history. Back in New York, Basquiat spent his days examining artefacts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, trawling through encyclopaedias, and reading up on his artistic predecessors. Although decidedly of his era, Basquiat kept an eye firmly rooted in the past, and in both oil paint and oilstick, he captured the many ways that history made itself known within his own life.
In 1982, Basquiat would again travel to Modena to prepare for a second exhibition at the Galleria Mazzoli. There he painted a cycle of eight monumental canvases which, like the present work, juxtapose Classical imagery with contemporary motifs. The 1982 exhibition was never realised, and the works were subsequently scattered across the globe. In 2023, the Modena paintings were finally reunited and shown together in a landmark exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler, Basel. These two visits to Italy were transformative for Basquiat, who was swiftly becoming an international celebrity. His life had forever changed and works such as the present capture the urgency and excitement of this experience, one that was only just beginning to gather strength.
In the wake of his participation in the now legendary Times Square Show in 1980, Basquiat was invited by the curator Diego Cortez to exhibit at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in Queens. New York/New Wave opened in 1981, featuring more than twenty of Basquiat’s drawings and paintings, which were installed alongside works by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Robert Mapplethorpe, among others. Basquiat’s contribution was enthusiastically received, and Cortez began to discuss the organisation of a future exhibition with Emilio Mazzoli, whose gallery was located in Modena. That spring, Mazzoli came to New York and, after viewing Basquiat’s most recent compositions, bought several works. The plan for a solo show at Galleria Mazzoli quickly came together.
In May, Basquiat travelled to Modena. It was the first time he had been to Europe. He made drawings and paintings there, showing his art under his tag SAMO: the reverse of the present work is inscribed ‘SAMO © MODENA 1981’. Italy must have been fascinating for an artist so transfixed by history. Back in New York, Basquiat spent his days examining artefacts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, trawling through encyclopaedias, and reading up on his artistic predecessors. Although decidedly of his era, Basquiat kept an eye firmly rooted in the past, and in both oil paint and oilstick, he captured the many ways that history made itself known within his own life.
In 1982, Basquiat would again travel to Modena to prepare for a second exhibition at the Galleria Mazzoli. There he painted a cycle of eight monumental canvases which, like the present work, juxtapose Classical imagery with contemporary motifs. The 1982 exhibition was never realised, and the works were subsequently scattered across the globe. In 2023, the Modena paintings were finally reunited and shown together in a landmark exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler, Basel. These two visits to Italy were transformative for Basquiat, who was swiftly becoming an international celebrity. His life had forever changed and works such as the present capture the urgency and excitement of this experience, one that was only just beginning to gather strength.