Gri Gri - Jean-Michel Basquiat
Archival giclée
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Description
A striking 1984 composition by Jean-Michel Basquiat, featuring a central silhouette and symbolic red markings against a stark black and white background.
Gri Gri (1984) is a work by Jean-Michel Basquiat that demonstrates his interest in cultural symbolism and the reduction of the human form to its most essential components. The composition features a central, dark silhouette set against a stark white vertical field, which is then enveloped by a deep black background. This layering creates a sense of suspension, as if the figure exists in a void.
Basquiat employs a raw, immediate application of paint. The figure is rendered with minimal detail, yet the facial features, particularly the eyes and teeth, are articulated with sharp, aggressive strokes. The red lines that cross the torso and extend outwards suggest a connection to ritualistic objects or protective charms, from which the title derives. The term gri-gri refers to an amulet or talisman used in various African and Caribbean traditions to ward off evil or bring good fortune.
By stripping away extraneous detail, Basquiat focuses the viewer on the tension between the figure and the surrounding space. The work avoids traditional perspective, opting instead for a flat, graphic quality that recalls the immediacy of street art and the influence of primitive art forms. The limited palette of black, white, and red serves to unify the composition, directing attention to the stark contrast between the light and dark areas. This piece reflects the artist's ability to synthesise personal history, cultural heritage, and contemporary visual language into a singular, potent image. The deliberate simplicity of the lines and the starkness of the colour choices ensure that the focus remains on the symbolic weight of the subject matter, rather than on decorative flourish.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Specific Features
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- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Gri Gri - Jean-Michel Basquiat
Artist Biography
Jean Michel Basquiat
He had no formal art training. He dropped out of school at seventeen and slept on park benches and friends' floors. He sold hand-painted postcards and t-shirts. He gate-crashed a restaurant where the critic Henry Geldzahler was eating with Andy Warhol and handed them a postcard. Warhol bought one. The art world opened.
By twenty-one he was showing in galleries. By twenty-two he was the youngest artist ever invited to Documenta in Kassel. The paintings are dense, layered, furious: text fragments, anatomical drawings, crown symbols, crossed-out words, references to Black history, jazz, boxing, anatomy textbooks, and street signage. They look unplanned but they are not. The crossed-out words are deliberate. He wanted you to read them, then register the erasure.
He and Warhol collaborated on a series of paintings in 1984 and 1985. The relationship was complicated by the art market's tendency to treat Basquiat as Warhol's protege rather than his peer, and by the fact that Warhol, older and more established, got better reviews for the joint work. Basquiat pulled away.
He died of a heroin overdose in 1988, at twenty-seven. His paintings now sell for over 100 million dollars. He would have found that both satisfying and absurd.
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