ART: Jean-Michel Basquiat

The Estate of acclaimed hip hop producer and Delicious Vinyl co-founder, Matt Dike, alongside Phillips, will be selling a rare collection of artworks made by the late Jean-Michel Basquiat. Leading the forthcoming sale is Basquiat’s Self-Portrait painting alongside five standout pieces that were made during the early 1980s.

Dike’s first encounter with Basquiat was in the late 1970s at an NYU party when the artist went by his well-known pseudonym SAMO. Their friendship grew over the years with Dike eventually becoming Basquiat’s assistant in 1982 when the budding music producer was working for Gagosian LA at the time. It was during Basquiat’s LA residency when he created the Self-Portrait. That same artwork will available for purchase at Phillips’ upcoming auction in May.

“Self-Portrait firmly takes a prime position in the pantheon of self-portraits in Basquiat’s oeuvre, one that perhaps like none other is filled with self- reflection,” said Phillips in a statement.”Estimated at $9-12 million USD, Self-Portrait leads the group and is one of the greatest self-portraits by the artist to ever be offered at auction.”

The Basquiat works will be on view in Los Angeles from April 9-11. The auction will take place at the auction house’s New York location from May 3-15. Check out select works above and then head over to Phillips’ website to learn more.

For those struggling to snap up tickets to see Jean-Michel Basquiat masterworks at The Brant Foundation, you’re now in luck. New York City’s Nahmad Contemporary is offering up another option to check out significant pieces by the late legendary artist. Entitled “Xerox,” the presentation features an impressive selection of works made by Basquiat using Xerox copies as the core medium. The series features over 20 paintings, five boxes, and 10 postcards.

The artist first dabbled with the material in 1979, creating vivid collages with close friend, artist, and filmmaker Jennifer Stein. Basquiat incorporated his signature paint splatters, scrawled text, alongside scavenged items such as candy labels and newspaper clippings in his compositions before placing them into the copier.”It wasn’t until 1983, however, when collage became a defining element of his practice, that Basquiat began to extensively use the photocopier as a tool to create paintings,” said the gallery. “The process of photocopying became so integral to his practice that he eventually invested in his own color Xerox machine for his studio.”

Tour the “Xerox” exhibition above and then head over to Nahmad Contemporary’s website to learn more. The show is open to the public until May 31.

In other shows, learn more about Chicago-based artist Louis De Guzman’s upcoming show in Manila, Philippines entitled “In Between The Lines.”

Nahmad Contemporary
980 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10075