28” x 36” - oil & latex paint on panel with cellophane

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Everyone knows the meteoric rise of Basquiat and his place in the New York art scene throughout the 80s. He dated Madonna, was friends with Warhol, magazine covers, Debbie Harry - his story and his genius are amazing. When I was studying his work for this series, I found it tricky to look through my filter. When creating new work, I always try to boil things down and communicate images and icons as simply and as boldly as I can. Jean-Michel’s work is the opposite of that – frenetic at times, busy, messy – in a genius kind of way. It’s nearly impossible to boil down his style. I felt that to just reduce it to his crown or his T-rex was to easy, too cliché.

The pin I made to honor Basquiat is simple but I tried to emulate his style when he incorporated portrait elements into his complex story-board sagas.He sometimes painted human forms in black and white with key features in simple primary colors.After he gained success, Basquiat sometimes walked around photo-shoots in his Armani suit with no shoes on.Graffiti artist meets Wall Street.I wonder if he would wear a lapel pin?