Louisiana reunites Basquiat's 'Heads' for the first time

A key work by Basquiat will be among the highlights of the May auctions at Sotheby's in New York. 'Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)', from 1983, belongs to a series made in Los Angeles, which also includes 'Hollywood Africans', now in the Whitney's collection. Already in 2013, it went to auction at Christie's in London: at that time it realised $14.5 million, today it is offered with an estimate of $45 million, an increase of 210% testifying to the continuing demand for the works of the artist, who is among the most sought-after in the contemporary segment.

«Untitled (Head)», 1982 di Basquiat

"Basquiat represents the object of desire," commented Anders Kold, Curator & Head of Acquisitions at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, where Basquiat's first museum exhibition in Scandinavia is underway (until 17 May). Entitled 'Headstrong', the exhibition focuses on a specific theme in the artist's oeuvre: the depiction of the head, with 49 works on paper created from 1981 to 1984, which also go for millions at auction. For the first time ever, they are brought together in a museum and placed in Basquiat's production. "The artist had kept them to himself," explains Kold, "they were found at his death and exhibited in 1990 at the Robert Miller Gallery in New York, to whom Basquiat's father had entrusted the management of the bequest". The only painting on display is the famous 'Untitled' from 1982, which set a record for the artist in 2017 at $110.5 million, and will fly to Miami in June for the 'Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols' exhibition at the Pérez Art Museum, with a dozen masterpieces collected for the World Cup.

«Untitled», 1983 e «Head», 1982-1983 di Basquiat

"We don't want to feed the mythology and the market," said Anders Kold, "but when Louisiana does an exhibition, prices - although already stellar in this case - are influenced upwards. To realise this exhibition we collaborated with the secondary market, obtaining information and contacts with lenders from dealers and auction house specialists."
The works show Basquiat's skill as a draughtsman, the movement of his gaze on the surface of the canvas, the rhythmic energy of the gesture. "They are not portraits of anyone, nor self-portraits, nor sketches for paintings," explained Anders Kold. "They have disturbing eyes and tight mouths, revealing a tension, a state of mind. The artist draws on Christian iconography, street art, African masks, modern art. What is he telling us? Perhaps he is not talking to us at all, but to himself. He was born at a time of profound cultural change, when Basquiat was the first black artist to break into the white world overnight. He represented an epochal turning point and that is how his fame is still explained today'.

«Untitled», 1983 e «Head», 1982-1983 di Basquiat

"Basquiat did not make a distinction between works on canvas and works on paper, indeed, perhaps he sold a painting more easily than a paper," explained Gregoire Billault, Sotheby's Chairman of Contemporary Art in New York, "they are not just sketches, or preparatory works, but works in their own right. Of course canvases are more expensive, also because papers require special care, attention to climatic conditions, but the market for works on paper is, however, very solid". Prices start from USD 60-80,000 for small works on paper from the beginning of his career, up to USD 25 million. At the height of Covid, in 2020, Sotheby's sold a 'Head' on paper, a subject that is certainly one of the most sought-after, for 15 million, starting from an estimate of 9-12 million, which at the time might have seemed aggressive.

And how did Basquiat react to the market crisis? "In general, we have not seen a crisis, although the press has talked about it a lot, but a decrease in supply. In the case of Basquiat, there is clearly no crisis: every single work has exceeded estimates and performed very well. Last May, a work on paper estimated at 10-15 million came to almost 17 million, another 'Head' that we sold in London with an estimate of 6-8 million sold for 9 million. It is a completely global market, which speaks to all generations, there is no other artist of the 80s generation who reaches these levels. He has changed the rules of painting with a courage that no one else has had'.