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Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin

Sale price$25.00

Estimated shipping date – late December


Though most often associated with New York, Jean-Michel Basquiat had a strong connection to Switzerland, which began in 1982 with his first exhibition at Galerie Bruno Bischofberger in Zurich. Throughout the 1980s, he returned several times, travelling to St. Moritz and the Engadin region. This new book examines the artist’s relationship with the country and is published on the occasion of the exhibition Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin at Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz. It was in Switzerland that Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Francesco Clemente began to work on their collaborations, marking a significant turning point in Basquiat’s artistic practice.

Featuring an essay by curator Dr. Dieter Buchhart, this publication documents a unique body of work that captures the artist’s impressions of the Swiss Alpine landscape and culture through the lens of his iconic visual language.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin
Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin Sale price$25.00

Language

English

Publisher

Hauser & Wirth Publishers

Composition

Hardcover

Contributors

Forewords by Bruno Bischofberger and Iwan Wirth. Essay by Dieter Buchhart. Chronology compiled by Sophie Wratzfeld together with Bruno Bischofberger and Silvia Sokalski.

Pages

76 pages

Size

34 x 24 cm

ISBN

9783907493021

Publication Date

Dec-24

The Artist

Jean-Michel Basquiat

The comet-like ascent of Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988) surprised the art world and sent shockwaves through society. Basquiat began his artistic career covering the walls of Downtown New York with conceptual, poetic graffiti. His symbol-laden paintings address political issues, criticizing racism, social injustices, and consumer capitalism. He found inspiration for his powerful compositions in everyday life and popular culture such as cartoons, comics, and prominent athletes, as well as in spiritual African power objects. With their skeleton-like silhouettes, mask-like grimaces, and pictograms, his artworks combined the explosive visual codes of the streets of New York with the cultural heritage of mankind, blurring the line between imagery, words, and signs. In just eight years, Basquiat created an all-encompassing oeuvre imbued with the same intensity and energy that characterized his
short life. His idiosyncratic visual language continues to influence contemporary movements as well as post-internet artistic practices, and is a testament to his enduring, cross-cultural relevance.

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