Basquiat × Banksy
Overview
Featuring two major contemporary paintings, this landmark presentation pairs Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump (1982) with Banksy’s response, Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search (2018). Placed in dialogue, the two monumental works reveal connections among street art, contemporary art, and popular imagination.
Basquiat × Banksy marks the first time Banksy’s work has been exhibited at the NCMA and only the second time artwork by Basquiat has traveled to the Museum since the 2011 exhibition 30 Americans. The exhibition originated at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC. It was organized by Hirshhorn Associate Curator Betsy Johnson.
Artists
Basquiat is one of the best-known artists of his generation and is widely considered one of the most important artists of the 20th century. His career in art spanned the late 1970s through the 1980s until his death in 1988, at the age of 27. Basquiat works are edgy and raw, and through a bold sense of color and composition, he maintains a fine balance between seemingly contradictory forces such as control and spontaneity, menace and wit, urban imagery, and primitivism.
Banksy, arguably the most famous street artist working today, has managed to conceal his identity despite widespread speculation. His first identifiable artworks appeared on trains and buildings around Bristol, England, in the early 1990s. Early in his career, he developed his signature style, a mostly monochromatic stencil technique adopted partly for speed of execution and partly in homage to French artist Blek le Rat (aka Xavier Prou), who pioneered stencil-based graffiti works in Paris in the 1980s.
Details
Jean-Michel Basquiat, born Brooklyn, New York (1960–1988), Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump, 1982, acrylic, crayon, and spray paint on canvas, 96 × 164 in., Private collection, © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York; Image courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian, Washington, DC
Banksy, born near Bristol, London, Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search, 2018, acrylic and wax marker on birch wood, 96 × 135 5/8 in., Private collection; Courtesy of Pest Control, Image courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian, Washington, DC
The Museum seeks to make a safe and welcoming space for all. We work consistently with local partners to gather information on accessibility needs, provide staff training, and increase accommodations during exhibitions and events.
Members enjoy free tickets to ticketed exhibitions every day, annual guest passes to share the Museum with friends, presale access to programs, and additional events designed to deepen your experience with the Museum you love. Be sure to log in to your member account to access exclusive programs and receive discounts on the tickets in your cart before checkout.
Exhibition Sponsors
The national tour of Basquiat × Banksy is organized by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, with generous support from Kenneth C. Griffin and Griffin Catalyst.
