Basquiat's Multilingual Chaos at Milan's Mudec
Milan's Mudec presents a dense, didactic exhibition of Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988), drawn mostly from the Mugrabi collection. The show highlights his multimedia practice—paintings (including collaborations with Warhol), drawings, silkscreens, and painted plates—and his roots in Puerto Rican and Haitian culture, his SAMO graffiti tag, his no-wave band Gray, and his use of cut-up techniques inspired by Burroughs. A 1986 interview video shows Basquiat musing on making films where Black people aren't aliens. The exhibition emphasizes social motivation and linguistic hybridity but downplays the funereal, skeletal anatomy that pervades his work. Mudec connects Basquiat's primitive art influences to its own collections, following earlier shows on Gauguin and Miró.
Key facts
- Basquiat was born in New York in 1960 and died in 1988.
- His mother was Puerto Rican, his father Haitian; he grew up in Brooklyn's Afro-Caribbean community.
- He used the tag SAMO (Same Old Shit) and was a member of the no-wave band Gray.
- He admired writers Twain and Burroughs, sharing Burroughs' cut-up technique.
- The exhibition includes works from the Mugrabi collection: paintings, drawings, silkscreens, and painted plates.
- Some paintings were made in collaboration with Andy Warhol.
- A 1986 interview video shows Basquiat discussing his desire to make films.
- Mudec previously hosted exhibitions on Gauguin and Miró.
Entities
Artists
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Andy Warhol
- Mark Twain
- William S. Burroughs
- Madonna
- Keith Haring
- Paul Gauguin
- Joan Miró
- Lucia Grassiccia
Institutions
- Mudec
- Artribune
Locations
- Milan
- Italy
- New York
- Brooklyn
- Manhattan
- Downtown