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Jean-Michel Basquiat
Basquiat Gray 1980

1980

About the Item

Jean-Michel Basquiat (untitled) Gray 1980: An exceptionally rare 1980 flyer created by Basquiat for his band, GRAY. Literature: Jean-Michel Basquiat 1981: The Studio of the Street', (Deitch, Cortez, Vassell): Seeing Loud: Basquiat and Music (Buchhart, Bessières, Desmarais). Further background as follows: Basquiat illustrated & printed this work much in the manner of his well-documented, Anti-Product Cards and several other xerox collages of this period: here, Basquiat draws over a found image, then employs his famous William Burroughs style 'cut-up' technique; completing the piece by abstractly scrawling the word, 'Gray' above. RARE & not be to be passed on. Medium: Color Xerox on paper. 1980. Dimensions: 8.5 x 11 inches. Condition: Good overall vintage condition; scattered soiling marks; minor signs of handling & aging; typewriting on the reverse; minor corner bending in one or more places. Unsigned from an edition of unknown; few known to have survived. Provenance: Obtained directly from a prominent Basquiat Gray band-member. Accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from the former. Exhibited: - Jean-Michel Basquiat 1981: The Studio of the Street: Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, New York, 2006. - New York, New Music 1980-86: Museum of the City of New York (2021). - Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: Seeing Loud: Basquiat and Music (2022). - Basquiat Soundtracks: The Philharmonie de Paris, 2023 (The Paris Philharmonic). Literature/References: -Jean-Michel Basquiat 1981: The Studio of the Street p.113; (Deitch, Sirmans, & Vassell, 2007). - Jean-Michel Basquiat: A Biography, (Fretz, 2010) p. 39-41. - Featured in the Basquiat documentary, Radiant Child (d. Tamra Davis, 2009). - Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: Seeing Loud: Basquiat and Music (Buchhart, Bessières, Desmarais). Basquiat and Gray: A brief history: First called Channel 9, then Test Pattern, the Basquiat co-founded group, settled on the name "Gray", after Basquiat's fondness for the textbook Gray's Anatomy. Gray was an experimental New York Noise band defined by jazz improvisation, spoken word poetry, sound looping and everything in-between. Gray members included co-founder Michael Holman, Nick Taylor, Shannon Dawson, Wayne Clifford and eventually, Vincent Gallo. "Jean-Michel did all the posters for the band" (see Fretz, Basquiat A Biography p.40), and the group most notably played the likes of historic downtown clubs such as CBGB, The Mudd Club, Squat Theater and Hurrah's. The late Glenn O'Brien once noted that Basquiat approached music as a, 'Picasso-Charlie Parker-Miles Davis' collage. Basquiat who played clarinet, synthesizer and a number of hybrid-instruments, once said of Gray, "We were trying to be incomplete, abrasive, oddly beautiful." A description much in-line with the nature of his art going forward. Based on the nature of how 'Gray' is written, it is likely Basquiat was influenced by the mysterious religious zealot, turned urban legend/street artist - famous for key-scratching "Pray" on hundreds of New York City building doors & phone booths in a similar style.
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