Basquiat: the intensity of angry art

I try to think about life

A body in the middle of nowhere. An oversized head. Bared, serrated teeth, electrified hair and widespread arms. The self-portrait or representation of the self often appears in the works of Jean-Michel Basquiat, yet he seldom managed to raise his angry voice as powerfully as in this figure composed of dark and blood red pigment. The work in the MACBA Collection shows the vibrant line and intense brushstrokes with which this American artist screamed against the world. ‘I don’t think about art when I’m working. I try to think about life’, the artist explained in 1986. Basquiat’s scream comes to us today with renewed strength.

WORKS IN THE COLLECTION BY JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT

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Sterno

1985

Jean-Michel Basquiat

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King Zulu

1986

Jean-Michel Basquiat

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Self-Portrait

1986

Jean-Michel Basquiat

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Multiple identity

20 December, 1996 to 20 December, 1997

PUNK. Its Traces in Contemporary Art

13 May, 2016 to 25 September, 2016

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MACBA Collection
Prelude.
Poetic Intention

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