Provenance
Private Collection
Exhibited
New York, Cheim & Reid, In Word Only, February 17 – March 26, 2005
Literature
R. D. Marshall, Jean-Michel Basquiat: In Word Only, Cheim & Reid, New York, 2005. p. 3 (third text piece illustrated)
Catalogue Essay
Within the fleeting span of ten years, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s tempestuous life brought a new and exciting visual vocabulary to the face of contemporary art. The vast mourning of his tragic death at age 27 only highlighted the breadth of influence he had already produced; revolutionizing a generation of artists and establishing him as an unprecedented symbol of youth, vigor, and artistic innovation. The present lot, Untitled (3 Text Pieces), 1982, conjures a time in which Basquiat was still on the brink of international recognition and art-stardom. Indeed, while he had barely begun to unleash on his canvases he had already developed a profound appreciation for the writing of William Burroughs and the beat generation.
Untitled (3 Text Pieces), matches stark words of poetry on three otherwise blank pieces of notebook paper. Throughout the late 1970s, Basquiat’s personal legacy as a poet had been honed on the New York streets with his close friend and early collaborator Al Diaz. Together as SAMO, an acronym for “same old shit”, Basquiat and Diaz spread their poetic and sparse messages of anti-establishment and social critique across the city of New York, embodying the movement of hip-hop and colliding with transformative symbols and text-based art. Though Basquiat was often scant and deliberately succinct in his interviews, his surviving text gives us insight into a profoundly brilliant and unconventional mind, where visual representation was as important as the words used to explain it. Though Basquiat broke his partnership with Diaz in 1980 in order to further pursue a career in painting, the present lot is a testament to Basquiat’s continuous investigation of language; enhancing some of his most acclaimed canvases with the inherent power of text. Exploring semiotic contexts as much as reveling in their aesthetic and formal appeal, the allure of the present lot exemplifies astute comparisons between Basquiat and Cy Twombly. Revealing a quick-wittedness and intimate aura of presence the Untitled (3 Text Pieces), 1982 distills a humble séance between man and word.
Artist Biography
Jean-Michel Basquiat
American • 1960 - 1988
One of the most famous American artists of all time, Jean-Michel Basquiat first gained notoriety as a subversive graffiti-artist and street poet in the late 1970s. Operating under the pseudonym SAMO, he emblazoned the abandoned walls of the city with his unique blend of enigmatic symbols, icons and aphorisms. A voracious autodidact, by 1980, at 22-years of age, Basquiat began to direct his extraordinary talent towards painting and drawing. His powerful works brilliantly captured the zeitgeist of the 1980s New York underground scene and catapulted Basquiat on a dizzying meteoric ascent to international stardom that would only be put to a halt by his untimely death in 1988.
Basquiat's iconoclastic oeuvre revolves around the human figure. Exploiting the creative potential of free association and past experience, he created deeply personal, often autobiographical, images by drawing liberally from such disparate fields as urban street culture, music, poetry, Christian iconography, African-American and Aztec cultural histories and a broad range of art historical sources.
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35

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled (3 Text Pieces)

1982
ink on paper (in 3 parts)
each: 10 x 6 in. (25.4 x 15.24 cm)
Each work is accompanied by a certificate issued by the Authentication Committee for the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Estimate
$80,000 - 120,000

Contemporary Art & Design Evening Sale

7 March 2013
New York

1
Ryan Sullivan
June 18, 2009 - January 20, 2010
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $60,000
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2
Dan Colen
Oy Vey 3
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $164,500
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3
Glenn Ligon
Silver Just Us #5
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $242,500
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4
Johnny Swing
“Half Dollar / Butterfly” chair
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $67,300
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5
Kelley Walker
Untitled
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $110,500
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6
This lot is no longer available.
7
Rob Pruitt
I Love Bamboo (I hate you)
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $98,500
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8
Wendell Castle
Black Edition “Big Table,” from the “Molar” series
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $74,500
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9
Mark Grotjahn
Butterfly (Black, Red, Orange)
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $254,500
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10
Ettore Sottsass, Jr.
“Menta” totem
Estimate $20,000 - 25,000
Sold for $25,000
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11
Damien Hirst
Levorphanol
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $218,500
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12
Cecily Brown
S.A.P.
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
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13
Albert Oehlen
Traurigkeit
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $362,500
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14
Andy Warhol
Knives
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for $2,008,900
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15
Ed Ruscha
Anchor Stuck in Sand
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $550,000
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16
Sigmar Polke
Untitled
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
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17
Gerhard Richter
Fuji (839-12)
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $215,000
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18
Martin Kippenberger
Leiden Warum, Leiden Wozu (Suffer Why, Suffer What For)
Estimate $350,000 - 450,000
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19
Jacob Kassay
Untitled
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $188,500
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20
Ron Arad
“Oh-Void 2” chair
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
Sold for $122,500
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21
Richard Prince
Untitled (Massage)
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $146,500
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22
George Condo
The Monk at the Brothel
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $266,500
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23
Maurizio Cattelan
A Perfect Day
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
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24
Gilbert & George
Wheel
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $104,500
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25
Louise Lawler
Going
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
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26
Jim Hodges
The Good News, Ta Nea, 3/20/2007 (Athens Greece) 3/20/2007
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $30,000
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27
Ken Price
Oh Gee
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
Sold for $314,500
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28
Sylvie Fleury
Eternal Wow on Shelf (cyan/purple)
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $80,500
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29
This lot is no longer available.
30
Tom Friedman
Inside Out
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
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31
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $98,500
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32
T.V. Santhosh
Enemies' Enemy II
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
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33
Eric Fischl
The Cattle Auction (A Study)
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
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34
Thomas Houseago
Untitled (Coin Mask I)
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $74,500
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35
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled (3 Text Pieces)
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
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36
Richard Prince
Eden Rock (oil rig and cowboy)
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $200,500
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37
Francesco Clemente
Zip
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $68,500
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38
Karel Appel
Personage
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
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39
Ahmed Alsoudani
You No Longer Have Hands
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
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40
Elliott Hundley
Garland
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $104,500
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41
Os Gêmeos
Landscape
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $134,500
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42
Studio Job
“Perished” table
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $68,500
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Contemporary Art & Design Evening Sale

7 March 2013 New York

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Provenance

Exhibited

Literature

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Jean-Michel Basquiat

35

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled (3 Text Pieces)

Contemporary Art & Design Evening Sale

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7 March 2013
New York