Provenance
Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris
Exhibited
Paris, Galerie Yvon Lambert, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1988; New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 23 October, 1992 – 14 February, 1993; London, Serpentine Gallery, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1996; Malaga, Junta de Andalucia, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 16 May – 7 July, 1996
Literature
M. Enciri, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris, 1989, p. 137 (illustrated); Exhibition catalogue, Whitney Museum of Modern Art, Jean-Michel Basquiat, New York, 1992, p. 222 (illustrated); R. D. Marshall, J.L. Prat, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris, 1996, 1st edition, vol. II, p. 152, no. 3 (illustrated); T. Safrazi, J. Deitch, R. D. Marshall, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1999, p. 278 (illustrated); R. D. Marshall, J.L. Prat, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paris, 1996, 2nd edition, vol. II, p. 258, no. 3 (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay
Jean-Michel Basquiat is very frequently referred to as the artist-rebel of his time, coming to fame with a troublesome body of work that tormented theartistic community as much as his counterpart Andy Warhol. Although a knowledge of Basquiat comes laden with tragic accounts of an inability to restrain from vice, this fact does nothing to overshadow the sheer brilliance of the work he created in his brief and exciting artistic career. The artist had the most exceptional tendency to execute paintings that were loaded with attitude and turmoil ultimately representing in full both the identity of the artist and the culture of excess and loss he found himself surrounded by. The work of Basquiat is outwardly aggressive, presenting infinite layers of a consciousness that battled with its own great intellect and its sense of not belonging. Born in 1960, Jean-Michel Basquiat displayed an aptitude for art at an early age and by seventeen years old, Basquiat and a friend were viciously spray-painting graffiti art on slum buildings in lower Manhattan with the signature of SAMO. Living as a black male artist in New York in the 1980s, Basquiat faced huge obstacles both institutionally and publicly, achieving little recognition and acknowledgement for his graffiti-style paintings as spiritually meaningful works of art and not simply vandalism.

Basquiat found influence for his subject matter from a never ending plethora of sources and experiences. His background growing up on the streets of New York, his multi-cultural heritage, the artistic environment he found himself embedded within, all managed to find their way into his work. Basquiat’s work became a montage of symbols of spirituality and mass culture, all of which were treated equally with egalitarianism that only
Basquiat himself could embody. In virtually all of his works, Basquiat also included carefully chosen words and phrases in different languages and this is attributed to his Puerto Rican and Haitian roots and his abilities to
speak French, Spanish and English. The combination of provocative images and relevant subjects, juxtaposed with text and language that are rich in reference and allusion, makes Basquiat’s work original and complex yet
universal and engaging.

In the early years of his career, Basquiat often depicted skeletal figures and mask like faces to express his obsession with mortality. In the middle period from 1982-1985, Basquiat featured multi-panel paintings and individual canvasses with exposed stretcher bars and worked the surface densely with writing and collage. The present lot, Light Blue Movers was executed in the last phase of his life from 1986-1988, which displays a new type of figurative depiction, in a new painterly style, with different symbols, surces and content. It appears that Basquiat was breaking away from his earlier motifs that had become too familiar and comfortable, and pushing
ahead into new territory.

Created in the year of Warhol’s untimely death, and one year before Basquiat’s own demise, in Light Blue Movers, Basquiat introduces a new trademark logo in the tag ‘IDEAL’, with its multiple references: to the toy manufacturing company, to a standard of perfect beauty, to the word itself, expressed with a colourful child-like naivety. The tag ‘IDEAL’ soon before the artist’s tragic death is a frightening avenue into the thought that
Basquiat was well aware of his inner moral crisis and the ultimate effect that it will have on him as it takes his life. Light Blue Movers hones in directly on its subject, Basquiat stripped the painting of any visual complexity, a style adopted late in the artist’s career, this painting appears sparse and focused on displaying a singular narrative. It is this fact that makes this particular lot interesting in regards to Basquiat’s larger body of work, the artist employed a reserved pallette to articulate this equally explicit and loaded painting. Instead of the raw, broad and jagged overlapping swathes of colour, sometimes with whole areas of drawn and painting images cancelled out, one experiences a shift in Basquiat’s painterly style that has now strongly characterised this group of late paintings. Looking at the work, one encounters the simplistic almost bare surface of the canvas that flatly covers the entire surface, serving as a ground for his isolated figures. In Light Blue Movers, two dark-coloured figures with elongated limbs and feet, neither overtly fleshy nor bony, are carrying what seems to be a heavy plush red sofa chair. The two figures appear to be moving across the canvas, image forges differing narratives within the mind of the audience, although explicit in his imagery, Basquiat manages to allow some space for the imagination of his audience. ‘The altered style, subject and mood of these late paintings shows Basquiat exploring a new vocabulary, expressing his deep felt concerns with issues of race, identity and aesthetics.’ (Taken from Palacio Episcopal de Malaga, exhibition catalogue: Basquiat, p. 146)

The work of Basquiat gives off an immediate aura of aggression and ferocity, yet the poetic composition on canvas balances out the psychological and conceptual undertones, fusing into a cohesive intellectual and visual statement. This work is a fine example of Basquiat’s ability to merge figurative and gestural art forms with a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary attitude, to articulate his own unique artistic expression, one that is intuitive, thoughtful and literate.
Artist Biography
Jean-Michel Basquiat
American • 1960 - 1988
One of the most famous American artists of all time, Jean-Michel Basquiat first gained notoriety as a subversive graffiti-artist and street poet in the late 1970s. Operating under the pseudonym SAMO, he emblazoned the abandoned walls of the city with his unique blend of enigmatic symbols, icons and aphorisms. A voracious autodidact, by 1980, at 22-years of age, Basquiat began to direct his extraordinary talent towards painting and drawing. His powerful works brilliantly captured the zeitgeist of the 1980s New York underground scene and catapulted Basquiat on a dizzying meteoric ascent to international stardom that would only be put to a halt by his untimely death in 1988.
Basquiat's iconoclastic oeuvre revolves around the human figure. Exploiting the creative potential of free association and past experience, he created deeply personal, often autobiographical, images by drawing liberally from such disparate fields as urban street culture, music, poetry, Christian iconography, African-American and Aztec cultural histories and a broad range of art historical sources.
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333

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Light Blue Movers

1987
Acrylic and oilstick on canvas.
274 x 285 cm. (108 x 112 1/5 in).
Signed, titled and dated 'LIGHT BLUE MOVERS Basquiat 87' on the reverse.

Estimate
£1,800,000 - 2,500,000 ‡

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

18 Oct 2008, 7pm
London

301
Kader Attia
Arabesque
Estimate £25,000 - 35,000 ‡♠
Sold for £39,650
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302
John M. Armleder
Untitled
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ‡
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303
Banks Violette
Lovesongs for Assholes (Jack Daniels)
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304
Ugo Rondinone
MOONRISE.west.january to december
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305
Terence Koh
Untitled (White Light #1)
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Sold for £67,250
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306
Richard Prince
What Can You Do?
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ♠
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307
Jake and Dinos Chapman
CFC.77393898
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ♠
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308
Takashi Murakami
Tongari-kun
Estimate £3,500,000 - 4,500,000 ‡
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309
Olafur Eliasson
To Day
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡♠
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310
Bill Viola
The Quintet of the Silent
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ‡
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311
Jim Lambie
Four Seasons Pizza Slice
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000 ‡
Sold for £17,500
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312
Rashid Rana
The World is Not Enough
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313
Ron Arad
Unique ‘Paved With Good Intentions’ table
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000
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314
Anselm Reyle
Untitled (For Otto Freundlich)
Estimate £80,000 - 100,000 ‡♠
Sold for £73,250
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315
Tim Noble and Sue Webster
Special Edition Silver $
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 Ω
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316
Marlene Dumas
Cleaning the Pole
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡♠
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317
John M. Armleder
Untitled
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 Ω
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318
Richard Phillips
Commune
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡
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319
Damien Hirst
Beautiful Asthma, Abestosis the Light at the End of the Tunnel No Use Crying Over Spilt Milk Painting
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡♠
Sold for £265,250
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320
Zaha Hadid
‘Swash’ cabinet
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000
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321
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (White Butterfly Fan)
Estimate £300,000 - 400,000 ‡
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322
Ugo Rondinone
Neunundzwanzigsteraprilzweitausendundnull
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323
Gary Hume
Pink Nicola
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324
Ed Ruscha
Untitled
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325
Donald Judd
Untitled
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326
Andy Warhol
Flowers
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡
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327
Joan Mitchell
La Grande Vallée XIII
Estimate £2,000,000 - 3,000,000 ♠
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328
Lisa Yuskavage
Dark Garden II
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329
George Condo
A Commercial Approach to Abstract Painting
Estimate £180,000 - 220,000 Ω
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330
Keith Haring
Untitled
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331
Zhang Xiaogang
Bloodline Series: A Boy
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332
Andy Warhol
Mao
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000
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333
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Light Blue Movers
Estimate £1,800,000 - 2,500,000 ‡
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334
Andy Warhol
Detail of the Last Supper / Be Somebody with a Body
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335
Mohammad Ehsai
Mohabat
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336
Albert Oehlen
Untitled
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 Ω♠
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337
Marlene Dumas
Three Female Busts from the Sixties
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338
Matthias Weischer
Stube
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339
Michaël Borremans
The Ulcer
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340
Michael Raedecker
The Reflex
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ♠
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341
Jitish Kallat
Suffix (Herbaceous Perennial)-3
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342
Paul McCarthy
Bavarian Deer
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343
Tim Noble and Sue Webster
A Pair of Dirty Fucking Rats
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344
Komar and Melamid
Skyscraper
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345
Andy Warhol
Diamond Dust Shoes
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346
Eric Fischl
Untitled (Bathroom Scene)
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347
Gilbert & George
Viking
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348
Grayson Perry
Nostalgia For The Bad Times
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349
Maxim Kantor
Structure of Democracy
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350
Paul Guiragossian
Le Centre du Monde (from Motherhood series)
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351
Farghali Abdel Hafiz
HATSHEPSUT
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352
Zeng Fanzhi
Little Girl
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353
Andy Warhol
Mao
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354
Yue Minjun
Contemporary Terracotta Warriors No. 7
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355
Yan Pei-Ming
Untitled
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356
Anish Kapoor
Untitled
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357
Wilhelm Sasnal
Flood
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358
Anselm Kiefer
Das Grab in den Lüften (A Tomb in the Sky)
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359
Juan Muñoz
Untitled
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360
Sir David Adjaye
Unique ‘Sclera’ pavilion
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ≠♠†
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361
Antony Gormley
Suspend Pompeii
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362
Joseph Kosuth
Grass, vegetation, green, growth
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363
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
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364
Johanna Grawunder
Prototype ‘West’ chandelier
Estimate £24,000 - 28,000 ♠
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365
Francesco Vezzoli
Embroidering Veruschka was Here
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366
Subodh Gupta
Oman to Madras
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367
Richard Prince
Untitled (cowboy)
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368
Maurizio Cattelan
Strategies
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369
Dr. Ahmed Moustafa
The Archetypal Shapes of the Arabic Numerals
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000
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370
Michel Majerus
Express
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371
Makoto Aida
Louis Vuitton
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Contemporary Art Evening Sale

18 Oct 2008, 7pm London

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Provenance

Exhibited

Literature

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Jean-Michel Basquiat

333

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Light Blue Movers

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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18 Oct 2008, 7pm
London