In 1983, art curator Diego Cortez described Basquiat as the ‘Black Picasso’. When Basquiat was asked if he liked the comparison, he said, "Not so much. It’s flattering, but I think it is also demeaning."
On June 8, a portrait of Picasso by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) in 1984, sold at Christies, London for GBP 6,462,500 (the equivalent of nearly $8 million.)
Picasso’s influence on Basquiat began when he was very young and saw Guernica (1937) on display in MoMA in New York. He said it was his favorite artwork as a child. By 1985, when Basquiat had achieved great success as an artist himself, he was able to add a painting by Picasso to his own collection.
Pablo Picasso’s influence on the entire art world is undeniable. 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Picasso’s death. The governments of France and Spain have created a bi-lateral culture commission to remember Picasso, who was born in Malaga, Spain and died in Mougins, France.
An international symposium will be held in the fall to coincide with the opening of the Center for Picasso Studies in Paris at the Musée National Picasso-Paris. The celebrations will culminate in December, at Unesco in Paris. Museum curators, researchers, art historians, curators and conservators will come together for the event: “Picasso in the 21st Century: Historical and Cultural issues”.
The works of generative artist Harvey Rayner have become some of the most sought after in the art market. His works are complex and thoughtful; not just in terms of his algorithms, but also in terms of the concepts and feelings behind each design.
His series, Covehithe, available at VFA, is a remembrance of the coastline village of Covenhithe near Rayner’s hometown in England. A cove is, of course, a sheltered bay or concave arch; a hithe is a small port or harbor on a river. Rayner’s algorithmic landscape design captures the topographical colors and texture of the area.
“Many of my ancestors stretching back at least five generations were seafarers from this small area of coastal Suffolk.” Rayner wrote about the work. “Having spent countless hours walking along this coast, the dark tumultuous sea, the inclement weather, the primordial spectacle of rapidly eroding cliffs and shifting shingle banks, are deeply imprinted into my artistic vision. Spending time at Covehithe often fills me with a complex tapestry of emotions that somehow meld with the spirit of the land.”
Harvey Rayner lives and works in upstate New York.
References:
Basquiat’s Untitled (Pablo Picasso), from 1984: a bold tribute from one 20th-century titan to another. Christie’s. June 23, 2023.
Ross Dwyer. Jean-Michel Basquiat's Depiction of Pablo Picasso Is Headed to Auction. Hybeast/HypeArt. June 23, 2023.
50 Events to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Picasso’s Death. Tomorrow’s World Today. April 10, 2023.
Harvey Rayner. Covehithe: Algorithmic landscape. April 30, 2023.
