Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure

This exhibition is extraordinary! It’s an up close and personal look into the life of the artist from the family’s perspective and there are so many pieces that have never been exhibited before! This exhibition sees the Basquiat family sharing their collection for the first time ever and provides an intimate and foundational insight into Jean-Michel as only they can. Featuring over 200 works and artifacts from the estate's collection, 177 of which have never been exhibited, the exhibition takes guests from his early childhood through posthumous accomplishments and gives context to how his heritage and family informed his work.

Some pieces looked familiar to me as only Jean Michel- Basquiat could have created them yet other pieces were so new to me that I had to get acclimated to seeing the work for the first time. There were also personal family film clips I had never seen before as well as many installations including a recreation of his artist’s studio on Great Jones Street and home.

Jean-Michel's sisters, Jeanine and Lisane, run the estate and curated the exhibition. They hold a singular place in the art world as two Black women outside of the art establishment and are in charge of one of the world’s most important and valuable collections.

Please try and get tickets while it is here and experience the exhibition first hand. Don’t forget to visit the gift shop on your way out!

All pictures are courtesy of the Author.