“I don't think about art when I'm working. I try to think about life.”
—Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled III, from The Figure Portfolio, stands as a remarkable example of the artist’s distinctive visual language. Fragmented symbols and intense gestural expressions intertwine with ambiguity, offering a glimpse into the artist’s psyche while also engaging with broader cultural themes. Two standing figures, seemingly a man and a woman, stare directly out at the viewer. Their bodies are distorted and jagged, characterised by erratic lines and fragmented forms, such as their robotic, rake-like hands. Energetic scrawls of colour seem to emanate outward from the figures, amplifying their raw, visceral energy. Above their heads, cartoon speech bubbles hint at a conversation, yet their words remains indecipherable. Alternatively, as their unflinching gazes confront the viewer, it raises a provocative question: are they speaking to us – and if so, what are they saying? The zigzagging lines, triangles and erratic mathematical formulae that surround them belong to Basquiat’s interior world – a realm brimming with frenetic energy and coded symbolism – which the viewer can only hope to unlock.
The Figure Portfolio, a posthumous series of vibrant screenprints based on Basquiat’s 1982 drawings, comprises four works that feature figures entangled in a dynamic interplay of symbols, scrawls, and numbers. Basquiat’s fascination with anatomy, rooted in his childhood reading of Gray’s Anatomy while recovering from a car accident, fuels the raw vitality of his figures. Yet, here his anatomical references transcend realism, instead emphasising the chaotic, visceral essence of the human form. Through the rough, child-like marking and haphazard forms, Basquiat’s figures convey both physical and emotional complexity, underlining his admiration for Jean Dubuffet and the naïve style of Art Brut. The disjointed bodies, intense colours, and ambiguous symbols create a visual language that speaks to both the inner workings of the human experience and the external forces that shaped the artist’s identity and the socio-political landscape of his time.
Much of Basquiat’s oeuvre is semi-autobiographical and, throughout his career, the artist repeatedly used his art to express his experience as a young black male navigating daily life. As in Untitled III, his figures are often fragmented and elusive, rejecting the classical ideals of physiognomic accuracy in favour of symbolic representation. This can be detected here not only in the figures’ posture, but also in the underlying tension that runs through Basquiat’s marks, suggesting a confrontation with the world around him. The wide-open eyes and mouth of the figures emphasise a state of perpetual vigilance, suggesting the constant fight for recognition in a society that often marginalised voices like Basquiat’s. With no clear narrative sequence, the series exemplifies the artist’s ability to entwine together fragmented stories to form an intricate web of personal and cultural symbolism.
