ALBERTINA „JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT“ RETROSPECTIVE

It is unique to see such an impressive collection of works from impressive yet tragic artist Jean Michel Basquiat. Virtually no other artist comes anywhere close to being as representative of the 1980s and that decade’s pulsating New York art scene as does the brilliantly exceptional artistic phenomenon that was Jean-Michel Basquiat. Basquiat’s meteoric career can seem something like fast-forwarding through a movie filled with sequences where the principal character interacts with his era’s most significant artists, including David Bowie and Madonna. Moreover, Basquiat also maintained an inspiring friendship with Andy Warhol. His paintings were soon in extremely high demand, appreciating rapidly in value—and by 1982, he had become both the youngest-ever participant in documenta 7 and the first world-famous artist with Afro-American-Caribbean roots. Basquiat was unable to withstand the challenge posed by this quick success for long, however, and he died of a drug overdose in 1988.

We visited the Basquiat retrospective as a 3-generation team with Bernhard’s parents and our children. And it was unique to see how the works inspired, touched, energized, provoked all of us instantaneously.

The show also epitomized the quality of Albertina as one of the world’s premier art museums. See more at albertina.at