INTRODUCTION

The art of Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) possesses the same intensity and energy that marked his brief life. The artist star died on August 12, 1988, at age 27, of a drug overdose. In the space of only eight years he had succeeded in creating an extensive oeuvre and introducing new figurative and expressive elements into contemporary art.

On the occasion of his fiftieth birthday, the Fondation Beyeler is devoting the first large exhibition ever held in Europe to this outstanding American draftsman and painter. Comprising over 100 works, it traces Basquiat’s unique artistic development and reflects his place in art history. Conceived as a retrospective, the exhibition also enables a rediscovery and re-evaluation of one of the most fascinating personalities in the history of recent art.
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