JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT | Untitled

signed and dated Nov1985 on the reverse

Yvon Lambert Gallery, Paris
Collection of Mr. Ferrero, Nice
Artcurial, Paris, May 31, 2010, lot 80
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Authentication Committee of The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Milan, Museo delle Culture, Jean-Michel Basquiat, October 2016 - February 2017, pp. 160-161, illustrated in color
Rome, Chiostro del Bramante, Jean-Michel Basquiat: New York City, March - July 2017, pp. 120-121, illustrated in color
Sao Paolo; Brasilia; Belo Horizonte; Rio de Janeiro, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Jean-Michel Basquiat: Obras da Colecao Mugrabi, January 2018 - January 2019, p. 140, illustrated in color

Enrico Navarra, Jean-Michel Basquiat: Works on Paper, Turin, 1999, p. 272, illustrated in color

Jean-Michel Basquiat is known for his dense layering of references, as is demonstrated in Untitled from 1985 where individual motifs are presented side by side on collaged sheets of paper. The most noticeable is the brightly coloured watercolour of an elephant in the upper left corner. As an animal native to Africa it would have had added significance for Basquiat. But often his references to nature were also a reflection on the human impact on natural resources, and the large hoist in the lower right corner should be read in this context. Another important theme for Basquiat was music, as shown in the record in the upper right corner which mentions Louis Armstrong, a highly influential Afro-American jazz musician. Finally Untitled includes several anatomical studies and dense lines of text that are both central aspects of Basquiat’s work.