TASCHEN - BASQUIAT XXL

The most comprehensive edition to date.

The legend of Jean - Michel Basquiat is as strong as ever.  Synonymous with New York in the 1980s, the artist first appeared in the late 1970s under the tag SAMO, spraying caustic comments and fragmented poems on the walls of the city.  He appeared as part of a thriving underground scene of visual arts and graffiti, hip hop, post punk, and DIY filmmaking, which met in a booming art world.  As a painter with a strong personal voice, Basquiat soon broke into the established milieu, exhibiting in galleries around the world.

This book allows an unprecedented insight into Basquiat's art, with pristine reproductions of his most seminal paintings, drawings, and notebook sketches.  In large scale format, the book offers vivid proximity to Basquiat's intricate marks and scribbled words, further illuminated by an introduction to the artist from editor Hans Werner Holzwarth, as well as historian Eleanor Nairne.  Richly illustrated year by year chapter breaks follow the artist's life and quote from his own statements and contemporary reviews to provide both personal background and historical context.

Hardcover / 11.5" x 15.5" / 500 pages