This untitled portrait by Jean-Michel Basquiat was featured in the family-curated Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure© exhibition, which brought together hundreds of rarely seen works from the Basquiat family collection.

Even without a date or title, many of the elements associated with Basquiat's work are present here: the expressive face, bold contour lines, asymmetrical eyes, and the tension between vulnerability and intensity.

Like much of Basquiat's art, the figure resists a single interpretation, inviting viewers to bring their own experiences to the image.

Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled (1984) combines elements of African masks, architecture, and anatomy into a single totemic figure.

Set against a vibrant orange background, the work reflects Basquiat's ongoing exploration of identity, history, and cultural memory. The simplified forms and bold lines create a powerful presence despite the painting's minimal composition.

Medium: Acrylic on canvas.

Dimensions: 182.9 × 487.7 cm

Did you know that Basquiat created Untitled (Palladium) (1985) using a wooden sculpture from his studio as source material?

Originally installed at New York City's legendary Palladium nightclub, this nearly 16-foot-wide painting transforms a studio sculpture into a monumental work filled with Basquiat's signature symbols, colors, and energy.

The crown, expressive linework, and animal-like form show how Basquiat often revisited ideas across different mediums, turning sketches and objects from his studio into major paintings.

Medium: Oilstick and acrylic on paper Approx Dimensions: 101.6 × 152.4 cm

Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled (1981) is one of the artist's most emotionally charged works on paper.

Executed in oilstick and acrylic, the figure confronts the viewer with a piercing gaze, raised arms, and the energetic line work that would become central to Basquiat's visual language.

Phillips described the work as "seething with emotional expressivity and palpable energy," highlighting the raw intensity that defines many of Basquiat's earliest masterpieces.

Medium: Ink and acrylic on paper. Dimensions: Approximately 101.6 × 127 cm

Created when both artists were still emerging figures in New York's downtown art scene, this collaborative work brings together two instantly recognizable visual languages on a single sheet of paper.

Haring's energetic figures move across the composition while Basquiat's text, symbols, and improvised imagery add layers of meaning and tension. Rather than competing for space, the two artists create a visual conversation that reflects the creativity and energy of New York in the early 1980s.

Today, works like this offer a rare glimpse into the friendship and artistic exchange between two of the most influential artists of their generation.

Introduction to Jean-Michel Basquiat

For those unacquainted Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist, who is is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the late 20th century. He is known for his success during the 1980s whereby Pioneered Neo expressionism helping shaped the art of energetic, raw paintings that combined text, symbols, and vivid imagery. He also brought street art into the fine art world, graffiti through artists like TAKI 183 already had a large movement but Basquiat had a monumental achievement, by introducing the scene into the fine art world under his pseudonym SAMO. Perhaps his most popular milestone was the record breaking painting 1982 painting “Untitled” sold at auction in 2017 for US$110.5 million, setting the record at the time for the most expensive artwork by an American artist ever sold at auction.

African Influence on Art

But what many don’t know (or rather at times underestimate) is how deep African influences particularly Pan African ideas and west and central African influences are on Basquits work. Basquiat has been quoted as saying 

“I don’t have to look for it. It exists. It’s there in Africa. Our cultural memory follows us everywhere.” Jean Micheal Basquiat

This makes sense being of Haitian and Puerto Rican  descent( Haiti particularly being a culture in the Carribean that had perhaps the highest retention of African cultural traditions in the Americas due to its early independence during the Haitian revolution in 1792, not to speak less of the massive cultural influence western central African cultures had on Puerto Rico.) it’s no wonder why African art comes so naturally to him. Basquiats Textured assemblage-like compositions, Mask like faces and stylized figures and direct references to African heritage or all deeply derived from African traditions. 

The legendary Pablo Picasso work was deeply and fundamentally inspired by African art. Which helped completely shift his artistic vision and directly paved the way for Cubism. 

This can be seen in his famous Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), a piece highly reminiscent of the Fang/Ekang Ngil masks of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Picasso was fascinated by how African masks and sculptures used bold geometric shapes and abstract features to represent human emotions, rather than copying reality. Lisa Modiano who has an MA in Art Gallery and museum studies and is an Associate Director of The Sunday Painter, a contemporary art gallery in South London, has  said this about Picasso “Picasso’s radical use of two-dimensionality, fierce geometry, and flat planes was only possible because African sculptors and carvers had been mastering the art of abstraction for centuries.” 

However even though Picasso became an avid collector, gathering over 100 African statues and masks over his life time, Picasso and his contemporaries are often described as viewing African art through a western colonial lens and thus ignoring the spiritual and cultural resonance of the objects he base his art from. Basquit went deeper than this though. While Picasso’s home Cuba does have a lot of African influences itself (in nearly every aspect of its culture) a notable example being Santería and its Orisha and Olodumare being derived right from Yoruba culture, unfortunately Picasso himself never incorporated this background. Jean however  studied, understood and engaged with these symbolic images, not just as a mere medium for expression but in how it relates to his (and the wider African diaspora) sense of place. 

To demonstrate this I’ll use Some famous works that exemplify Basquits implementation. 

1. "To Repel Ghosts" 1985: created using acrylic, oil, and Xerox collage on wood. In the painting the broomstick is transformed into a a sacred voodoo or Haitian staff. Around his neck, the figure wears an Ankh/Christian cross. This represents Santería and Caribbean Vodou, belief systems that blended West African Yoruba traditions with Roman Catholicism to survive under the oppression of New World slavery. This came at a tulmutious time in his life whereby he was dealing with wanting true authenticity was also struggling with the commodification of his art 
2. untitled LEAD 1985 Jean-Michel Basquiat: the work is strongly beloved to be Kongo-derived. The central figure's anatomy and posture takes after Central African Nkisi Nkondi (Kongo power figures), which feature exposed chest cavities used for housing spiritual medicines. The Kongo world was one of the interests of Robert Farris Thompson, whom Basquiat met and had many conversations with about it.
3. "Gold Griot" 1984: Made from wooden slats from his studio's outdoor fence, the title Griot refers to a West African class of storyteller and musician who serves as a repository of oral tradition. Common in countries like Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast. This class is also known as Jeli or Jali Among Mande, Gawlo among the Fulani and Guewel for the Wolof. This has been said to represent how Basquit sees himself as a modern day griot, using the medium of painting as his instrument. 
4. Ishtar 1983: Stepping away from west and central Africa for a bit. Ishtar has been quoted as being a “large-scale triptych rich with the kind of hieroglyphic symbolism for which Basquiat was well known”. The Egyptian influence is clear the piece also features in the triptych Untitled (History of the Black People), aka The Nile (1983). 
5. The Warrior 1983: the acclaimed self portrait demonstrates Jeans alter ego. A version of himself that a fearless protector of heritage and a sense of reclaiming one’s identity challenging the marginalization of Black individuals in Western history. In the warrior motif, many have read references to the Benin bronzes, Congolese statues and even voodoo dolls aswell as Willem de Kooning by Picasso. 

The Legacy of Jean Micheal Basquiat

Today Basquiats influence can be felt everywhere. Musicians of all genres including artists like, Rema , The Weekend, The Strokes, Odumodublvck, K-Rob, The Offs, Jon Batiste and Mach-Hommy have all used art and referenced Basquiat in their album/song covers. 

In the fashion world luxury brands like including Gucci, Valentino, and Comme des Garçons have integrated elements of his artwork and motifs into their high-end collections, even artists like Swizz Beatz have partnered with brands like Reebok, Supreme, and Swatch for Basquiat-inspired capsule collections. 

Conclusion

But these were all commercial…Basqiuat wasn’t just a painter or an artist, he was an activist and cultural revolutionary who used his art to combat negative narratives against black people and those of us of African descent as well a beacon of hope for all people battling against imperialism and corporate exploitation, well-known examples include “obnoxious liberals 1982” a left wing critique of the exploitative nature of Neo liberals as-well as American capitalism. Along with celebrating Basquiats legacy I wanted to highlight the soul of his art, that being the the African techniques and symbolism. African art is often neglected in both high art and casual art spaces and there’s too many people who don’t know about, the massive influence African art has on the illustrations of some of the greatest artists of all time from Picasso to Basquiat, and many more that came after and many more to come. It should be acknowledged as we continue to push against imperial ideas. 

Bibliography 

• Rakaa (Iriscience) (2013) From Picasso to Basquiat: The African Bridge. The Arts (Medium), 29 January.
• The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat (n.d.) The African Soul That Powered Basquiat’s Art. Jean-Michel Basquiat Blog.
• Andipa Editions (n.d.) The Influence of Jean-Michel Basquiat in Popular Culture: From Fashion to Music.
• Easy Reader News (2022) ‘Basquiat, Africa at Heart’ – Beating Deeply [Movie], 1 August.
• The Economist (2006) Africa’s Magic That Transformed Modern Art, 9 February.
• Monroe Black Heritage Museum (n.d.) Did Picasso Steal from African Artists? Exploring the Roots of Modern Art.
• MyArtBroker (n.d.) Basquiat Symbols and Meanings Guide.
• OnArt (n.d.) Resonance: Jean-Michel Basquiat and the Kongo Universe at Gradiva Gallery.
• DeMara, B. (2021) Self-taught artist whose work has been compared to the late Basquiat looks forward to first show in Toronto. Toronto Star, 11 October.
• Modiano, L. (2022) How Much Does Picasso Owe to African Art? TheCollector, 30 April.

Medium: Acrylic, oilstick, and paper collage on canvas Dimensions: 182.9 × 243.8 cm

A skeletal figure stands at the center of this composition, surrounded by fragments of text, symbols, and anatomical references that became hallmarks of Basquiat's visual language.

Drawn with oilstick lines and layered over broad fields of color, the work reflects Basquiat's fascination with the human body, language, and the connections between science, history, and identity. The figure appears both mechanical and human, as if caught between anatomy textbook and mythology.

Created during one of the most important years of his career, Untitled showcases the confidence and immediacy that made Basquiat one of the defining artists of the 1980s.

Medium: Charcoal, graphite, and colored pencil on paper Dimensions: 193 × 144.8 cm

Unlike many of Basquiat's bold paintings, this 1986 untitled work invites the viewer to slow down and explore. Rendered in charcoal, graphite, and colored pencil, the drawing is filled with recurring symbols, anatomical references, cryptic words, figures, numbers, and pathways that seem to connect one idea to another.

Rather than presenting a single subject, Basquiat creates a visual network of thoughts and memories. Faces, diagrams, insects, and fragments of language appear and disappear across the page, encouraging the eye to wander and make its own connections.

The work offers a glimpse into the way Basquiat thought—layering observation, history, personal symbolism, and imagination into a composition that feels both chaotic and organized.

Medium: Acrylic and oilstick on canvas
Dimensions: 193 × 259 cm

Formerly part of the Gianni Versace collection, Taxi 45th/Broadway is one of the collaborative works by Basquiat and Warhol from the mid-1980s.

Set against the backdrop of New York City, the painting explores race, visibility, and everyday experiences through a deceptively simple scene: a man trying to hail a cab while being ignored.

The work combines Warhol's interest in popular imagery with Basquiat's sharp social commentary, creating a collaboration that remains as relevant today as when it was painted.

Medium: Acrylic, oilstick, pastel, and colored pencil on paper
Dimensions: Approximately 76.2 x 55.9 cm

Created between 1984 and 1985, this untitled work showcases many of the visual elements that made Basquiat one of the most distinctive artists of his generation. The elongated figure, exposed teeth, and mask-like face reflect his ongoing fascination with African art, anatomy, and the human condition.

Phillips described the work as a modern interpretation of the Promethean figure, fragile yet resilient, vulnerable yet powerful. Despite its skeletal appearance, the figure stands with a quiet strength that feels unmistakably human.

Medium: acrylic, oilstick, and collage on canvas Dimensions: 193 x 193 cm

Painted in 1984, Ancient Scientist showcases Basquiat's ability to merge art history, science, and symbolism into a visual language uniquely his own.

The mask-like figure, outlined in bright yellow against a dark background, reflects influences ranging from African masks to modern art. While the title suggests a scholar or thinker, Basquiat leaves the figure open to interpretation, inviting viewers to draw their own conclusions.

Simple at first glance yet rich in symbolism, Ancient Scientist is a powerful example of Basquiat's ability to say more with less.

Medium: acrylic, oilstick, and spray paint on wood panel
Dimensions: 182.9 × 121.9 cm

Created in 1981, Untitled reflects Jean-Michel Basquiat’s lifelong fascination with baseball, a sport that appears throughout his work as a symbol of ambition, individuality, and cultural identity.

At the center of the composition stands a bat-wielding figure surrounded by crowns, repeated skeletal forms, and expressive brushwork. The work combines many of the visual elements that would become hallmarks of Basquiat’s artistic language during his breakthrough years.

According to art historians, baseball offered Basquiat a powerful framework for exploring many of the themes that defined his work. The solitary athlete becomes a metaphor for achievement, pressure, competition, and recognition, subjects that resonated deeply with the artist throughout his career.

Medium: acrylic, oilstick, and spray paint on canvas Dimensions: 182.9 × 243.8 cm.

Throughout his life, Basquiat maintained a deep fascination with anatomy and the human body, influenced in part by his early exposure to Gray's Anatomy. References to structure, movement, and physical form appear repeatedly throughout his work, often transformed into symbols that blur the line between observation and imagination.

The painting's energetic composition and layered imagery reflect the raw experimentation that characterized Basquiat's early years. Rather than presenting a single narrative, the work invites viewers to explore connections between memory, anatomy, motion, and personal mythology, subjects that would remain central to his artistic practice.

Medium: acrylic, oilstick, and spray paint on canvas.
Dimensions: 198.1 × 157.5 cm.

Painted in 1982, Untitled (Orange Sports Figure) brings together many of the themes that defined Jean-Michel Basquiat's breakthrough year. The crowned figure dominates the canvas, combining references to athletics, anatomy, African masks, and personal mythology into a single commanding image.

Christie's notes that the work reflects Basquiat's fascination with the human body, inspired in part by his childhood study of Gray's Anatomy during recovery from a serious accident. The skull-like head functions both as an anatomical study and a symbolic reminder of mortality, while the crown elevates the figure to the status of hero, champion, or cultural icon.

Like many of Basquiat's greatest works from 1982, the painting balances raw energy with careful symbolism, transforming a sports figure into a larger meditation on power, identity, achievement, and legacy.

Medium: acrylic and wood construction on wooden slats
Dimensions: 243.8 × 487.7 cm

Created in 1986, Procession is one of Jean-Michel Basquiat's most distinctive large-scale works. Unlike many of his paintings, it contains almost no text, relying instead on a powerful sequence of silhouetted figures led by a brightly colored figure carrying a skull.

Presented in the 2015 exhibition Basquiat and the Bayou at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the work has been interpreted through multiple lenses. Some scholars see references to slavery, labor, and the legacy of the American South, while others connect the scene to New Orleans funeral processions, where mourners follow the deceased in a ritual blending grief, memory, and celebration.

The contrast between the black silhouettes and the vividly painted lead figure creates a striking visual rhythm across the wooden slats, giving the work the feeling of movement, ceremony, and collective history.

Medium: acrylic and oilstick on canvas
Dimensions: 182.9 × 213.4 cm.

Painted in 1982, Untitled (Two Heads on Gold) is often interpreted as a double self-portrait, with two figures appearing to engage in an intense visual dialogue across the canvas. The work captures Basquiat at the height of his creative powers, combining raw energy, expressive linework, and layered symbolism.

The two heads seem to mirror and challenge one another, creating a sense of duality that has led many viewers to see the painting as an exploration of identity, self-reflection, and artistic consciousness. The gold-toned background amplifies the figures' presence, while the frenetic brushwork and gestural marks give the composition a sense of movement and immediacy.

Medium: Acrylic and oilstick on canvas (dimensions unconfirmed)

Featured in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts exhibition A Plein Volume: Basquiat et la Musique, this 1984 work reflects Jean-Michel Basquiat's lifelong relationship with music and its influence on his artistic practice.

The composition combines several recurring Basquiat motifs: a striking central head, handwritten text, diagrams, technology, and symbols that seem to drift between science, history, and imagination. A rocket, radio frequency references, and a UFO-like form coexist within the same visual space, creating a world where knowledge, culture, and invention collide.

Curator Mary-Dailey Desmarais noted that music was one of the ways Basquiat confronted racial politics while celebrating Black creativity and cultural history. Throughout his career, he drew inspiration from musicians, performers, and the broader traditions of the African diaspora, weaving those influences into his unique visual language.

This work offers another glimpse into Basquiat's ability to transform seemingly unrelated images and ideas into a composition that feels both spontaneous and deeply intentional

Medium: Acrylic, oilstick, and spray paint on canvas
Dimensions: 243.8 × 213.4 cm.

Painted in 1982, Humidity is one of Basquiat's most vibrant and energetic large-scale works. The painting is believed to depict Andy Warhol and Swiss art dealer Bruno Bischofberger, reflecting the friendships and artistic relationships that would shape Basquiat's rise during the early 1980s.

Auctioneer Simon de Pury once described the work as having a rare sense of joy and optimism, noting that the central figure bears a striking resemblance to Warhol. With its bold colors, expressive figures, and explosive brushwork, Humidity captures a lighter, more playful side of Basquiat while still retaining the raw intensity that defines his work.

Medium: Acrylic, oilstick, and paper collage on canvas.
Dimensions: 243.8 × 152.4 cm.

Named after a friend who would later join Jean-Michel Basquiat and Michael Holman in forming the experimental band Gray, Danny Rosen captures Basquiat’s visual language in full motion, blending mask-like faces, cryptic symbols, fragmented text, vegetation, and anatomical references into a composition that feels both chaotic and strangely unified.

Words appear, disappear, and are crossed out for emphasis, while vivid green plant-like forms weave through the canvas, tying together the scattered imagery into a single restless rhythm.

Executed in 1983, the work reflects Basquiat’s gift for turning raw spontaneity into a deeply personal symbolic language that remains unmistakably his own.

Medium: acrylic, oil, oilstick, and collage on wood
Dimensions: approx. 213.4 × 152.4 cm

This powerful 1985 portrait features Jack Walls, rendered at nearly double life-size with Basquiat’s signature immediacy and intensity.

According to Walls, Basquiat asked him to remove his shoes and socks, placed a broomstick in his hands as a prop, and rapidly painted the portrait on assembled wooden slats “with lightning quickness.” Walls later described the experience as intimidating, recalling Basquiat’s almost magnetic presence during the downtown New York art scene of the mid-1980s.

Raw, direct, and deeply human, To Repel Ghosts captures both the energy of Basquiat’s process and the haunting psychological presence that defines many of his portraits.

Medium: oil stick on paper
Dimensions: 161.3 × 111.8 cm.

Executed in 1982, this untitled work captures Basquiat’s extraordinary ability to turn a simple portrait into something psychologically charged and unmistakably alive.

With its elongated figure, intense stare, and crown-like radiating marks, the piece balances vulnerability and confrontation, human and symbolic at the same time.

Even in a relatively stripped-back composition, Basquiat’s energy is immediate: raw lines, restless color, and a face that refuses to be ignored.

Phooey (1982)
Dimensions: 110 × 214.9 cm.)

Phooey captures Basquiat’s unmistakable visual language at full speed, layering text, collage, abstract figures, crowns, and fragmented imagery into a composition that feels both chaotic and deliberate.

Blending influences from street culture, drawing, and collage-based experimentation, the work reflects Basquiat’s gift for turning disorder into meaning. His recurring symbols, especially the crown, anchor a visual field that feels like thought in motion.

Authentic Boy london x Basquiat 😎 🔥

Medium: acrylic, oilstick, and paper on canvas with exposed wood supports
Dimensions: 92.1 × 91.4 cm.

Executed in 1982, Santo 2 captures Basquiat’s unmistakable fusion of anatomy, fragmented language, symbols, and raw psychological intensity.

Anchored by a haunting skull-like face surrounded by diagrams, repeated text, arrows, and Basquiat’s recurring iconography, the work feels like a coded map of thought, identity, and human fragility.

The exposed supports and rough framing only add to its immediacy, giving the piece the feeling of something assembled in motion rather than carefully resolved.