Rare Jean-Michel Basquiat works featured in new 'King Pleasure' exhibit opening in 2022

September 22, 2021

A new major Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition is coming to NYC next year. Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure opens April 9, 2022 at NYC’s Starrett-Lehigh Building and features over 200 never before and rarely seen paintings, drawings, ephemera and artifacts from his family’s collection.

Architect Sir David Adjaye OBE is the Exhibition Designer and he said in a statement, “The vision for this project — to reclaim the narrative of Basquiat’s life and work and to shed new light on an artist that is only partially understood — aligns deeply with my studio’s mission of using design as a storytelling device. I envision the exhibition as an intimate narrative journey that not only displays his trailblazing career but cultivates his spirit and mission through the eyes and insights of his own family.”

The family has just shared the themes and environments that will make up the King Pleasure exhibit:

1960 – INTRODUCTION– This section of the exhibition introduces audiences to Jean-Michel, his family and his heritage with several self-portraits on display.
KINGS COUNTY– This section provides an overview of Jean-Michel’s childhood in Brooklyn and Puerto Rico. It will include an environmental evocation of Jean-Michel’s childhood home, ephemera and works by Jean-Michel including newsletters from City-as-School, sketchbooks, personal notes and effects, home movies, interviews with family members, early drawings and sculptures.
WORLD FAMOUS– This section details Jean-Michel’s meteoric early success including solo shows in New York and Los Angeles in 1982, as well as being the youngest of 176 artists exhibited at Documenta 7 in Kassel, Germany. This section includes paintings and other ephemera.
IDEAL – 57 Great Jones Street Studio (August 1983) Studio Recreation- Jean-Michel’s Great Jones Street studio will be recreated and include paintings, drawings, sketches, personal effects, his furniture, bicycle (his main method of transportation since he had trouble catching a cab), and his videotape and book collections.
ART GALLERY– This section will consist of several thematically arranged galleries with approximately 100 paintings and drawings. All works are owned by the Estate and most of them have never been seen before.
PALLADIUM– In 1985, Jean-Michel created two paintings, Nu-Nile and Untitled, for iconic NYC nightclub Palladium’s VIP area, the Michael Todd Room. The exhibition will recreate this space including video and soundtrack. This gallery also showcases Jean-Michel’s participation in the club scene.
PLACE JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT– This gallery will contain oral histories from members of Jean-Michel’s family and a close circle of friends as well as posthumous awards and exhibitions.