Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Poet in Paint

In this Artist Snapshot episode of Art Happens: The Divine Mess of Art History (presented by J-Squared Atelier), host James William Moore traces Jean-Michel Basquiat’s rise from the SAMO© tag on late-1970s Manhattan streets to the early-1980s gallery scene. The episode breaks down how Basquiat “samples” language and imagery—using words, cross-outs, repetition, crowns, skulls, and anatomy—to build paintings that feel like the city itself.

You’ll hear key milestones, including his first New York solo show at Annina Nosei Gallery (March 6–April 1, 1982) and the cultural collision captured by the 1985 New York Times Magazine “New Art, New Money” cover. The episode also highlights Basquiat’s direct engagement with race, power, and policing through “Defacement (The Death of Michael Stewart)” (1983), and reflects on his death in 1988 and how his legacy grew alongside the art market’s obsession with him.

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