Busytinsnips Blog
JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT, LOUIS VUITTON FOUNDATION PARIS. SATURDAY 5 JANUARY 2019
Jean-Michel Basquiat — Louis Vuitton Foundation Paris
Installation view of Jean-Michel Basquiat: Drawings at Robert Miller Gallery, NY 1990
Florence 1983, Acrylic and Oilstick on Canvas
I set off from Rue Victor Massé and walked west on Place de Clichy heading for the leafless trees of the Bois de Boulogne. After 2 hours of continuous walking I arrived at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in a state of feverish excitement!
I adore Basquiat's work and have seen many exhibitions down the years including:
Musée Maillol
Paris (2003)
Brooklyn Museum (2005)
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2010)
Guggenheim Bilbao (2015)
Boom For Real, Barbican Centre (London 2017)
However, this experience was possibly the best. The sheer size and scale of the exhibition on 4 floors is staggering and overwhelming and the art on display is glorious. There is nothing like seeing the work in the 'flesh'; it pulsates with colour and energy and is entrancing and teasing with riddles, intellect, word play, pathos and wonder in multiple layers of meaning. My response was both emotional (especially in front of Riding with Death) and enquiring; I was infected with passion and fascination.
On my second visit on Monday 7 January, my response was more analytical, searching the canvas surfaces for technique and hidden symbols, meaning and marks in the notions of society and self. It was an extraordinary experience; I sat at the feet to learn wisdom!
The exhibition includes works previously unseen in Europe, essential works such as Obnoxious Liberals (1982), In Italian (1983), and Riding with Death (1988), as well as paintings which have rarely been seen since their first presentations during the artist's lifetime, such as Offensive Orange (1982), Untitled (Boxer) (1982), and Untitled (Yellow Tar and Feathers) (1982).
I adore Basquiat's work and have seen many exhibitions down the years including:
Musée Maillol
Paris (2003)
Brooklyn Museum (2005)
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2010)
Guggenheim Bilbao (2015)
Boom For Real, Barbican Centre (London 2017)
However, this experience was possibly the best. The sheer size and scale of the exhibition on 4 floors is staggering and overwhelming and the art on display is glorious. There is nothing like seeing the work in the 'flesh'; it pulsates with colour and energy and is entrancing and teasing with riddles, intellect, word play, pathos and wonder in multiple layers of meaning. My response was both emotional (especially in front of Riding with Death) and enquiring; I was infected with passion and fascination.
On my second visit on Monday 7 January, my response was more analytical, searching the canvas surfaces for technique and hidden symbols, meaning and marks in the notions of society and self. It was an extraordinary experience; I sat at the feet to learn wisdom!
The exhibition includes works previously unseen in Europe, essential works such as Obnoxious Liberals (1982), In Italian (1983), and Riding with Death (1988), as well as paintings which have rarely been seen since their first presentations during the artist's lifetime, such as Offensive Orange (1982), Untitled (Boxer) (1982), and Untitled (Yellow Tar and Feathers) (1982).
I feel privileged to have seen the exhibition. The exhibition ends on the 21 January.
