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At Jean-Michel Basquiat DDP exhibition, philosophy meets language of street art

Published: 22 Sep. 2025, 13:23 Updated: 22 Sep. 2025, 18:16

LEE JIAN
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"New York, New York" (1981) [LEE JIAN]

More than three decades after his untimely death, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s graffiti-turned-high art remains undeniably cool.

His exhibition, “Signs: Connecting Past and Future,” is set to open Tuesday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung District, central Seoul, showcasing 70 paintings and drawings sourced from nine countries. Running through Jan. 31, it is presented for the 60th anniversary of the JoongAng Ilbo.

“Basquiat’s exploration of cultural hybridity and the deconstruction of language resonates as a crucial framework for creativity today,” said Lee Ji-yoon, CEO of the International Contemporary Art Curating Office Suum Project, at a press conference on Monday. “To re-examine Basquiat now is to recognize how his radical experiments laid the foundation for a new artistic language in the 21st century.”

The exhibition is organized into 11 sections, including Basquiat’s paintings, drawings and 155 pages from his eight personal notebooks.

It also juxtaposes the artist’s works with major aspects of Korean cultural heritage that embody Basquiat’s written language and symbols, such as the Bangudae Petroglyphs in Ulsan, the “Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon” — a commentary on the invention of the Korean alphabet — late calligraphy works by scholar Kim Chong-hui and Nam June Paik’s pioneering video art.

"Self Portrait" (1983) [LEE JIAN]

Basquiat, a downtown prodigy turned global icon, was born in New York in 1960 to a Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother. In 2017, his "Untitled" (1982) sold for $110.49 million at Sotheby’s, setting the record for the most expensive work by a U.S. artist and any post-1980 artwork ever sold at auction. He died at the age of 27 of a heroin overdose at his home.

As part of the Caribbean diaspora, Basquiat channeled his heritage and the struggles of African Americans into his art, giving them form on the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn. He also drew inspiration from the emerging jazz and hip-hop scenes, as well as from sports such as boxing and baseball, incorporating distinctive symbols into his paintings. His works are characterized by vivid primary colors, abstract signs, graffiti elements and fragments of poetic philosophy to deliver poignant messages.

Basquiat’s visual language also embraces an expansive range of references — from ancient Aztec, African and Greco-Roman art to contemporary popular culture such as comics and advertising — fusing them into a single visual code that connects humanity’s cultural heritage.

“He created knowledge rooms out of everything surrounding him — scientific and historic, and questions of imperialism and racism,” said Dieter Buchhart, a Basquiat scholar and curator. “This exhibition is about the universal language and his ability to connect the world.”

Dieter Buchhart, a Jean-Michel Basquiat scholar and curator, speaks to local reporters about Basquiat's Seoul exhibition “Signs: Connecting Past and Future,” which is set to open Sept. 23 at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. [LEE JIAN]

Highlights of “Signs: Connecting Past and Future” include the “The Studio of the Street” section, showcasing “New York, New York” (1981), painted when Basquiat was just 20 years old. The work captures the pivotal moment when he was transitioning from his days tagging the streets under the pseudonym SAMO to gaining recognition in the international art scene. The canvas brims with the dualities of 1980s New York, where poverty, racism and violence collided with freedom, creativity and explosive energy.

In the “Anatomy” section, visitors can see Basquiat’s monumental work “Flesh and Spirit” (1982–83). Comprising four large canvases and twelve panels, it is the largest and “the most impressive” work at the exhibit, according to Buchhart. The piece juxtaposes anatomical imagery with African spiritual symbols to explore the boundaries between body and soul, life and death, science and faith.

The “Epilogue” section features one of Basquiat’s final spiritual self-portraits, “Exu” (1988). Named after the Yoruba deity who governs thresholds and crossroads, the work reflects Basquiat’s foreshadowing of death.

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]