Jean-Michel Basquiat. Xerox

Jean-Michel Basquiat: Xerox provides the first concentrated examination of the extraordinary body of work that the artist created using Xerox copies as his principal medium and compositional focal point. These immersive, collaged Xerox paintings epitomize Basquiat’s extraordinary instinct for visual language. Their raw, allover compositions incorporate recycled and transformed signs and markings from the artist’s everyday experiences, including motifs from his earlier artworks. The intricate web of content in this series presages the copy-paste sampling characteristic of the subsequent internet and post-internet generations, positioning Basquiat as a pioneer of the pre-digital age.