Jean-Michel Basquiat (New York, 1960-1988). "Untitled". Mixed media on paper. Signed on the back. Made in 1985. A ...

Jean-Michel Basquiat (New York, 1960-1988). "Untitled". Mixed media on paper. Signed on the back. Made in 1985. A certificate from the Jean-Michel Basquiat State Committee is attached. 68.5 x 50.5 cm. He was an artist, poet, musician, cartoonist, and painter. In his youth he came into contact with the subculture of the big city, related to drug use and street gangs. In 1977, together with Al Díaz, he entered the world of graffiti, painting in subway cars and in areas of SoHo, a New York neighborhood where art galleries proliferate. His paintings and writings were highly poetic and philosophical, but above all satirical. The pseudonym of his alter ego shared with Al Díaz (SAMO is the acronym for SAMe Old shit, that is, "the same old shit", "the same crap"), with which they both signed their tags and graffiti, with messages cryptic, was decisive in his life. Today, this nonconformist and self-taught artist, who grew up in southern Manhattan in a postpunk context, is one of the most representative artists of the second half of the 20th century. In 1981, Rene Ricard published an article in Artforum magazine that catapulted him into what he called "The Radiant Child", and the following year he became the youngest participant in the Kassel Documenta. The raw and vibrant images of him, as well as his brief inscriptions on the fabrics, denote his interest in music, film, television and literature. With an art of great plastic force, brimming with fury and rage, this African-American artist - whose origins went back to the Haitian and Puerto Rican culture, despite coming from the middle class of Brooklyn - related to well-known artists such as Andy Warhol or Keith Haring.