The collaboration between THE SKATEROOM, The Jean-Michel Basquiat Foundation and Artestar draws on BASQUIAT’s iconic paintings from the early 1980s. It also brings street art full-circle, connecting the artist’s graffiti from the 1970s to Skateistan’s promotion of contemporary global skate culture.

As a boy, Jean-Michel BASQUIAT wanted to be a cartoonist. He established his reputation as a graffiti artist in the late 1970s, and his tag (SAMO) and subversive messages caught the attention of art-world stars of the era: Andy Warhol and Keith Haring thrust Basquiat onto a global stage. Through his friendship with both of them, he turned to the studio, creating paintings that reflect the energy of early 1980s hip-hop, as well as other cultural influences —ranging from Picasso to voodoo to Malcolm X.

Jean-Michel BASQUIAT’s artwork features layers of drawing, scratching, painting, collage, photocopying, and found objects — compositions which display a mastery of materials and techniques from acrylic and screen-printing to colored markers and spray paint.