“I was a really lousy artist as a kid. Too Abstract Expressionist…really messy. I’d never win painting contests. I remember losing to a guy who did a perfect Spider-Man.”

—Jean-Michel Basquiat

The four screenprints that comprise Superhero Portfolio are striking examples from Jean-Michel Basquiat’s celebrated oeuvre, each a reinterpretation of Basquiat’s original canvases executed between 1982 and 1987 featuring the artist’s personal heroes and idols. Taking inspiration from popular comic book characters and symbols, Basquiat depicts figures including Batman, Robin, and Flash alongside his iconic symbols and text. Combining bold colors and expressive mark-making, this portfolio exemplifies the unique style that brought Basquiat international acclaim.

Riddle Me This Batman, a screenprint after his 1987 painting of the same title, depicts iconic comic book characters Batman, the Joker and the Riddler. The Joker and the Riddler, Batman’s main nemeses, are placed at the image’s center: the Joker flaunts his iconic and unsettling toothy grin, while the Riddler is portrayed clutching a bottle of alcohol, perhaps alluding to Basquiat’s worsening addiction. Both supervillains are surrounded by delirious evil laughter, suggesting their twisted sense of humor. The title draws on the antagonizing taunt that the Riddler regularly poses to Batman: “Riddle me this Batman…” and pairs the text with despondent notes that there is “nothing to be gained here.

A Panel of Experts, from Basquiat’s 1982 canvas of the same title, presents specific events from Basquiat’s personal life, while a glimpse into the artist’s psyche. In the upper-left hand corner of the work under the words “Venus” and “Madonna”, there is a fistfight between two women in a New York nightclub, referencing Basquiat’s then-girlfriend Suzanne Mallouk (nicknamed Venus) and his lover Madonna, the 1980’s Pop music icon who, at the time, was not yet a celebrity. Basquiat’s decision to include the copyright symbol next to Madonna’s name suggest his awareness of her imminent fame. He told his art dealer Larry Gagosian that "she'll be the biggest pop star in the world." Basquiat’s appropriation of childhood popular culture with text that reads “Saturday Morning Cartoon” and “Sugar Coated Corn Puffs,” connects the print further to the portfolio’s other three prints.

Flash in Naples, from the 1983 painting of the same name illustrates the Flash – a comic superhero from the 1960s and 1970s. Flash in Naples exhibits significant energy and movement through its layered and frenzied crosshatching. The grid behind the running Flash on the left is distorted to convey speed. In the upper-right hand corner of the print, the word “emblem” has been inscribed below the Flash’s lightning bolt symbol and then scratched over. An intentional device typical of the artist’s work, Basquiat explained: “I cross out words so you will see them more: the fact that they are obscured makes you want to read them.”

Finally, Piano Lesson returns to imagery of Batman and Robin, originally shown in Basquiat’s 1983 canvas of the same title. Its vibrancy and intensely drawn surface showcase the two cartoon characters surrounded by the artist’s signature anatomical diagrams. The intricate grid that adorns Batman’s suit is reminiscent of the gridded background present in Flash in Naples, exemplifying Basquiat’s self-referential practice.

As a complete set, Basquiat’s Superhero Portfolio demonstrates Basquiat’s propensity for combining images from childhood popular culture with his own real and imagined experiences to address sociopolitical issues concerning race, identity and mortality. Each print is a testament to the artist’s enduring legacy and artistic genius, inviting viewers to enter his enigmatic world where his signature symbols of crowns and lightning bolts coexist with the nostalgia of Saturday morning cartoons that artistically inspired him in his youth.