Jean-Michel Basquiat

Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris
Private Collection

Zürich, Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982
Malaga, Junta de Andalucia, Palacio Episcopal de Malaga, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1996, p. 57, illustrated in colour
Le Mans, Musée du Mans, Basquiat, 1999

Richard Marshall, Enrico Navarra, et. al., Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris 1996, Vol. II, p. 74, no. 6, illustrated in colour 
Richard Marshall and Jean-Louis Prat, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris 2000, Vol. II, p. 120, no. 6, illustrated in colour

Colours: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the blocks of black in the figure's arms, torso and head are a rich brown in the original. The red tends more towards a bright cherry red and the overall tonality is also brighter and more vibrant in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There are scattered stable drying cracks to some of the white paint in the upper left hand quadrant. There are tension cracks around the nail heads attaching the canvas to the stretcher, notably those in the upper section of the right edge, with some associated tiny paint losses in places. There is a small circular area of craquelure towards the bottom edge 20cm in from the lower left corner. There are several minute fly spots to the figure's face. There is a crease to the paper collage running all the way down the centre of the sheet, original to the work's execution. There is a faint 5cm vertical rub mark beneath the upper left hand corner; a faint horizontal 3cm rub mark approximately 15cm below from the centre of the top edge; and a further horizontal rub mark in the top right hand corner. There is tiny paint loss to the left tip of the top and bottom horizontal stretcher bars. There is canvas draw in all four corners in keeping with the artist's choice of medium and working process. No restoration is apparent under ultra-violet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Standing as a milestone at the start of the Jean-Michel Basquiat's meteoric rise from penniless graffiti writer to New York's most critically acclaimed artist at the age of just twenty-two, Cantasso was the first of the artist's iconic 'exposed stretcher-bar' paintings. Beginning in early 1982, Basquiat's jump to art world stardom took place in under a year, shorlty afer being picked up by New York gallerist Annina Nosei who gave him his first solo exhibition in the United States and allowed him to live and work uninterrupted in the basement of her gallery. From there he embarked upon a series of works whose energy and creative experimentation remained unrivalled in his tragically short artistic career, and which stand today as some the most individual and powerful compositions of the late twentieth century.

Basquiat's most groundbreaking paintings from this period are celebrated for their uninhibited spontaneity of expression and their lyrical disregard to traditional painting methods. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the canvases that he constructed himself - works whose exposed stretcher-bars were fashioned from whatever materials he could lay his hands upon, and crudely bound together at the corners by twine or nails. Harking back to his roots as a street artist when any surface or material presented a potential canvas, the prominence of the stretchers in these works blurs conventional boundaries separating painting and sculpture, and gives the composition a primitive rawness likened to the construction of African shields. In Cantasso the stretcher bars are particularly pronounced. They stand poised like a wigwam; their black, angular forms jutting out starkly against the white expanse of the canvas. Whilst the role they perform is primarily functional, they also dramatically add to the feeling of tension within the image, enhancing the frenetic rigidity of Basquiat's hand and the urgency of its electrically charged line.

Basquiat was self-taught and trained his hand embellishing the streets and subways of downtown New York. He had an acute visual hunger which he constantly fed through frequent museum visits. Sourcing his imagery indiscriminately from the street, city life and the diversity of styles he perceived in art history, his work draws upon elements he admired from a plethora of different influences ranging from Picasso, Cy Twombly and Jean Dubuffet to primitive African sculpture - in particular those of tribal and warrior figures. This constant openness to a range of sources inspired the spontaneity of his draughtsmanship and led to the intuitive over-layering of images in a single composition. Consequently the image here is composed of numerous stages of reworking and over-painting and yet exerts a powerful two-dimensionality that shuns depth or narrative interpretation. It forces a dynamic and immediate relationship with the viewer through by the vogorous speed of the final execution and the expressive crudeness of the imagery.

Rendered in an explosion of bold, painterly gestures that climaxes in the intense, black diagonals which evoke the force of Franz Kline's monolithic brushstrokes, the composition of Cantasso resonates with a rarely equalled, untrained confidence. Done in a stream of sub-conscious thought without break or pause, there is an unrefined honesty to the application of paint here that is laced with an underlying wit and satirical commentary of American society. From a mixed Haitian and Puerto Rican background, Basquiat was forever conscious of being an outsider. He developed a great interest in his black and Hispanic roots and found a strong connection with historical and contemporary black figures including black musicians and sporting heroes whom he painted with a great respect throughout his life. White people dominated the art scene during his brief career, as they also did in the historical art sources he looked to for guidance and inspiration. This awareness compelled him to confront the issues of race and status which were addressed throughout his oeuvre and are inherently present in this compelling image. He used these themes as a voice for Black America and also as a medium for self-discovery. Emotionally charged, Cantasso provides a semi-autobiographical commentary on Basquiat's perception of the pertinent race issues within American contemporary society, displaying a frank assessment of his colour.

Confronting the viewer in Cantasso is a powerfully defiant figure, portrayed with one oversized arm thrust upwards in upheaval across the centre of the composition. Isolated and seemingly caged like an animal, the figure appears provoked, the right arm covering his hollow torso in defence. The figure tries to escape from the canvas, mirroring the social constraints of the African-American communities of Basquiat's time. The three eyes are unfocused and panicked as if being challenged from all sides. There is an explosion of energy and anger relayed through Basquiat's bold use of colours, highlighted by the blood red of the figure's tongue and the three glaring eyes. The figure's teeth and head are mask-like and skeletal which were common features throughout Basquiat's paintings, forever toying with the themes of mortality and anatomy.  Cantasso reveals an inner conflict that Basquiat endured throughout his life and has a unique immediacy that commands the viewer's attention. His unashamed use of paint, colour, stark imagery and symbolism contributed to the abundant success and acclaim he experienced in his short yet explosive career which continues today.