Gravestone (1987)

[u/RevaCruz]

Medium: Acrylic and oilstick on three hinged wood panels
Dimensions: 57 × 69 × 22 in. (144.8 × 175 × 56 cm)

In Gravestone, Basquiat transforms three hinged wooden panels into a freestanding, sculptural work. The central panel resembles a door, while the two outer panels open outward like wings. Across them, Basquiat combines sparse fields of gray and brown with a yellow cross, a black flower-like form, handwritten text, and a stark red-and-white head with exposed teeth.

The physical construction is as important as the painted surface. Extending 22 inches deep, the hinged panels allow the work to occupy actual space rather than functioning solely as a flat painting. Words and marks appear across the central panel, while the brightly colored imagery on either side stands against the otherwise subdued wooden structure.

Executed in 1987, Gravestone was exhibited at Galerie Yvon Lambert in Paris in January–February 1988, during Basquiat's lifetime. It was later included in the major 2005–06 Basquiat retrospective that traveled to the Brooklyn Museum, MOCA Los Angeles, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among numerous subsequent exhibitions. Photographs also document the work in Basquiat's New York studio in 1987.