The must-see of the season, 'Basquiat - Headstrong' was a major solo presentation of works on paper by legendary American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988). The exhibition was the first comprehensive showing devoted to the artist's depictions of the human head, including many works that the artist chose to keep to himself during his lifetime.
Occupying a position as an icon, myth and outright brand, Basquiat long ago burst out of the narrow confines of art history to become a ubiquitous global phenomenon: a young Black artist who broke through in a blitz of heads, bodies and potent symbols, only to vanish again at the age of 27.
Since then, the mythology surrounding his life and work has only grown stronger; today it lives a life of its own in popular culture.
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The Making of an IconDoug Woodham on how Basquiat became a global brand
Louisiana Lecture
Almost unknown
body of work
Amidst Basquiat’s explosive, expressive output, there is also a group of works – drawings in oilstick on paper, mainly from the period 1981-1983 – which revolve around the head as a motif and which are almost devoid of the symbols and text that are otherwise so characteristic of his practice.
Basquiat kept these works to himself, and they remained virtually unknown to the public during his lifetime. The heads were not preparatory studies for paintings or works in other media. They are works in their own right, and thus invite reflection on Basquiat’s overall practice.
The drawings are characterised by a movement between structure and disintegration; they range from skulls and somewhat anatomical studies to highly stylised faces. Their eyes and mouths are like portals opening up to an inner space, with each head as a vessel for emotional energy.
The fact that the works only emerged after the artist’s death makes it plausible to see them as intimate traces of an artistic process – something Basquiat could return to and study repeatedly.
Challenging expectations
Many of these artworks stand out in the canon of twentieth-century drawing because of two distinct features: first, their ambition in scale, and second, their vivid and rich use of colored oil sticks, which imbued these works with a unique visual gravitas. Their mastery and rarity challenge any expectations of the medium — a distinguishable quality observed throughout Basquiat’s production, first seen in his New York street art interventions and later in painting.
5 artists on Basquiat
We asked five contemporary artists, Alvaro Barrington, Arthur Jafa, Julie Mehretu, Dana Schutz and Ouattara Watts, about their relationship and fascination with Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Special focus
‘Basquiat – Headstrong’ was the first solo presentation of the artist at a museum in Scandinavia, and the first time this group of drawings had been given standalone focus in an institutional context. The exhibition stood out in a series dedicated to works on paper, in which the Louisiana has previously presented Philip Guston, David Hockney, Nancy Spero, Vija Celmins, George Condo, Richard Prince and Ed Ruscha, among others. It was accompanied by an illustrated publication with newly commissioned research.
Headstrong was made possible through the generosity of Citadel Founder and CEO Kenneth C. Griffin and his civic engagement initiative Griffin Catalyst, Lead Supporter of the exhibition.
Additional support was provided by the French Foundation, the Rubio Butterfield Foundation and Colour Themes.
