The story of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is one of triumph and tragedy. His triumph was over the New York City art world. By the early 1980s, Basquiat's art was being exhibited in galleries and museums internationally. At 21, Basquiat became the youngest artist to ever take part in documenta in Kassel.
His tragedy was Basquiat's death at the age of 27 from a heroin overdose in 1988. After his untimely death, his work has steadily increased in value. At a Sotheby's auction in May 2017, for example, Untitled, a 1982 painting by Basquiat depicting a black skull with red and yellow rivulets, sold for $110.5 million, becoming one of the most expensive paintings ever purchased.
Spotify just released the newest episode of its podcast series, “Spotify: Discover This” explores the life, work, and legacy of influential artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat through the newly-opened Basquiat: King Pleasure exhibition at the Starrett-Lehigh Building (601 West 26th Street) in New York City.
Spotify: Discover This is a podcast that shares fresh insights on music, podcasting, cultural moments, and trends with host Lea Palmieri.
Basquiat's art focused on dichotomies such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. Basquiat employed social comment in his paintings as a tool for identifying with his experiences in the Black community, as well as attacks on power structures and systems of racism.
Recently, Spotify partnered with the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat to curate a destination for the Basquiat: King Pleasure exhibit titled “Listen Like Basquiat,” a hub on Spotify featuring a series of playlists that explore the music that influenced and inspired his work. Each of the four playlists represents a different stage in Basquiat’s life, including “Childhood,” “Studio,” “Nightlife,” and “Legacy.”
This episode of “Spotify: Discover This” takes listeners inside the exhibit to preview some of Basquiat’s rarely-seen works, discuss his contributions to popular culture, the influence of music on his career, his relationship with Andy Warhol and more. The episode also features interviews with his sisters (Lisane and Jeanine Basquiat), exhibit curator Ileen Gallagher, and Spotify’s Co-Heads of Social Creative Shannon Ross and Kenia Perez, who initiated the partnership.
You can listen to the full episode
here.
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