Explore the History of this artwork.
Jean-Michel Basquiat rose to prominence as a graffiti artist in the late 1970s, operating under the pseudonym SAMO. In the early 1980s, he began to direct his creative output towards painting and drawing. Basquiat often painted on objects he found in the streets such as discarded doors and furniture. By 1984, he had achieved international stardom for his artwork. Flexible was painted on a slatted 8.5 ft tall wood support that had been deconstructed from the fence at his studio in Venice, California. Basquiat later made several wood slat picture supports from material purchased at a SoHo lumber yard in New York. The wood slat fencing material was used in more than 17 paintings made between 1984 and 1986, including Gold Griot (1984), M (1984), Grillo (1984), and Jim Crow (1986).Flexible depicts a griot—a storyteller, musician, and purveyor of oral history from West African culture—whose arms are joined together as a continuous band above the head. It was offered for sale for the first time, publicly or privately, in 2018. The painting was consigned directly from the Basquiat's estate. In May 2018, it sold for $45.3 million at Phillips' 20th Century & Contemporary Evening Sale, exceeding the pre-sale estimate of $20 million. It is the first Basquiat painting made after 1983 to sell for more than $20 million.
Phillips Venice, California West African West Africa Jean-Michel Basquiat Griot Jim Crow griot SAMO graffiti artist SoHo