The Easel

23rd May 2017

How Jean-Michel Basquiat Became The Ultimate American Artist

Writing in 1988 Robert Hughes described Jean-Michel Basquiat as “a small untrained talent caught in the buzz saw of art world promotion”. Last week a Basquiat sold for $110m – the highest price ever for an American artist. Different people read different things into this – revival of the art market, vindication of artists of colour and more. One writer observed “Basquiat’s got fans like Bob Marley’s got fans.”

16th May 2017

Adiós Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art Since 1950: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

A landmark survey of contemporary Cuban art bristles with interesting questions. “What’s it like to live in a country ossified for six decades under a sort of zombie Stalinism?” Can individuals build a personal utopia “even as the big utopian project seems to be going off the rails?” Most importantly, what is the art like? The last question is easily answered: vibrant and sophisticated.  Some political issues are outlined here.