Zurich, Gallery Bruno Bischofberger, 1985
Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 22, 1960. He began his career making street art composed of enigmatic writings on buildings and walls in downtown Manhattan in the late 1970s. His work quickly rose to the spotlight, and by the early 1980s he gained the attention and acclaim of galleries and museums internationally. In what is often classified as a neoexpressionist style, Basquiat drew on social and political themes like systematic racism, identity politics and commodity culture. The artist died at the age of 27 on August 12, 1988 in his studio on Great Jones Street in New York City.
Limited edition, one of 1000 numbered and signed copies; oblong folio (355 x 265 mm); with one photographic portrait by James van der Zee and 32 colour plates; publisher's cloth binding with dust-jacket, a fine example.
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