''Untitled (Pollo Frito)'' is a painting created by American artist

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...

in 1982. The artwork was sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

for $25.7 million in November 2018.

History

Jean-Michel Basquiat executed ''Untitled (Pollo Frito)'' in 1982, the year he fully gained legitimacy and recognition in the international art scene. He received his first American solo exhibition at the Annina Nosei Galley in New York, followed by the Larry Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles and

Bruno Bischofberger Bruno Bischofberger (born 1940) is a Swiss art dealer and collector. Life Bischofberger was born in 1940 in Zürich. He studied art history, archaeology and ethnography (folk art) at the University of Zurich, with further studies at the univers ...

's gallery in Zurich. He also received an invitation to attend the ''Documenta 7'' exhibition in Kassel as the youngest artist to participate. In 1982, Fay Gold, an art dealer from Atlanta, spotted ''Untitled (Pollo Frito)'' at the Annina Nosei Gallery during a trip to New York City. She had intended to buy a diamond bracelet with the $5,000 her husband gave her for her birthday, instead she bought the painting. In 1985, Gold went to Basquiat's

Great Jones Street Great Jones Street is a street in New York City's NoHo district in Manhattan, essentially another name for 3rd Street between Broadway and the Bowery. The street was named for Samuel Jones, a lawyer who became known as "The Father of The ...

studio and invited him to do a show at her gallery. He sold her a group of eleven drawings for $16,500 and later traveled to Atlanta for the opening at the Fay Gold Gallery in February 1986. In 2002, Gold sold ''Untitled (Pollo Frito)'' for around $1 million. It sold for $25.7 million at Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Auction in November 2018. The painting debuted on the art-investment platform, Masterworks in July 2023. According to SEC documents the painting was worth of $36,869,000.

Analysis

The painting, which comprises two panels that together span 12 ft, is covered in "incendiary shades of orange, red, and yellow." Basquiat's key iconography are present, including a crown, repetitive words, and an expressionistic head. Drawn from the unfiltered grit of his environs in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

as the

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

artist

SAMO Samo (–) was the founder and sole ruler of the first recorded political union of Slavs, Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire ("realm", "kingdom", or "tribal union"), ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to Fredegarius, the only ...

, Basquiat makes textual references like "BROKE GLASS" and "DANGER." Basquiat, who was of Puerto Rican heritage, often combined clever wordplay in English and Spanish in his artwork. On the left panel above the encircled word danger is "PELIGROSO," which translates to dangerous. The title "POLLO FRITO" (

fried chicken Fried chicken, also called Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or ...

), may refer to the racist stereotype about

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

loving fried chicken. Fried chicken and broken glass, along with "ASBESTOS" is also a warning to the danger of capitalist consumption. The word "asbestos" appears in several Basquiat paintings like ''Obnoxious Liberals'' (1982) and ''Per Capita'' (1983). There is a connection between asbestos and certain types of cancer and in 1982, Johns-Manville Corporation filed for bankruptcy after facing liability for asbestos injury claims. At the time, it was the largest company ever to file bankruptcy, so by mentioning "asbestos" in his paintings, Basquiat is referencing corporate greed.

Exhibitions

''Untitled (Pollo Frito)'' has been exhibited at major art institutions worldwide, which include: * ''Jean-Michel Basquiat'' at Annina Nosei Gallery in New York, March–April 1982. * ''Jean-Michel Basquiat'' at Vrej Bahoomian Gallery in New York, October–November 1989. * ''Jean-Michel Basquiat'' at Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, October–December 2004. * ''Basquiat "Heads"'' at Van de Weghe Fine Art in New York, March–May 2006. * ''The Jean-Michel Basquiat Show'' at Fondazione La

Triennale di Milano The Triennale di Milano is a museum of art and design in the Parco Sempione in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is housed in the , built between 1931 and 1933 to designs by Giovanni Muzio and financed by Antonio Bernocchi and his ...

in Milan, September 2006–January 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Untitled (Pollo Frito) Paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat 1982 paintings

History

Analysis

Exhibitions

See also

References