ARTIST / NEW YORK / 1960—1988

JEAN-MICHELBASQUIAT

A language of his own.

Words become images.
Figures become symbols.
A world that refuses to sit still.

Jean-Michel Basquiat's multicolored figure painting Untitled, 1981 — 01 / UNTITLED1981

PAINTING · DRAWING · LANGUAGE

01 / LIFE & LEGACY

From the street.
Into art history.

Born in Brooklyn in 1960, Jean-Michel Basquiat moved from the downtown New York scene into international recognition. His paintings bring together words, anatomy, music, and Black cultural history.

Explore the life behind a visual language that continues to resonate.

1960
Brooklyn1978
SAMO© era1982
International rise1988
New York

02 / SELECTED WORKS

Look closer.

More than meets the eye ↙

Bodies, words, and questions of power. Two works from 1981.

Untitled, 1981 — a skeletal figure on a multicolored ground — Untitled
1981
ANATOMY / FIGURES / IDENTITY

Irony of Negro Policeman, 1981 — angular figure on a light ground — Irony of Negro Policeman
1981
FIGURE / LANGUAGE / POWER

Jean-Michel Basquiat in his Great Jones Street studio with the Box sculpture, 1985 — GREAT JONES STREET STUDIO, 1985 · LIZZIE HIMMEL

03 / EXHIBITIONS · ON VIEW

Figures.
Signs.
Symbols.

Pérez Art Museum Miami
June 25, 2026 — June 6, 2027

Ten works from the Kenneth C. Griffin Collection, brought together through the artist’s figures, language, and symbols.

Explore the exhibition ↗

JEAN-MICHELBASQUIAT

From the street.Into art history.

Look closer.

Untitled

Irony of Negro Policeman

Figures.Signs.Symbols.

From the street.
Into art history.

Figures.
Signs.
Symbols.