Samsung Art Store is today welcoming the arrival of 12 of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s most striking works, in partnership with Artestar and The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. This is the first time the iconic artist’s work has been officially released for digital display, and joins works from leading museums, collections and artists around the world available from Samsung Art Store.
▲ Pez Dispenser (1984), one of Basquiat’s most recognizable artworks, displayed on The Frame
Samsung Art Store is a subscription service that enables owners of The Frame to continuously transform any space with over 2,500 pieces of digital art, including works from the most renowned artists, museums and industry tastemakers.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was a beacon of innovation and social commentary, with his work not only featured in galleries and museums worldwide, but also igniting a powerful conversation on cultural complexities. Artestar and The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat continue to honor his prolific legacy by showcasing his art and its underlying messages, striving to engage with audiences worldwide to ensure his visionary work remains accessible and influential.
“The ability to bring Basquiat’s iconic artwork directly into your home with Samsung Art Store is an exciting opportunity for global audiences to experience his work in a new and powerful way,” said David Stark, Founder and President of Artestar, the international brand licensing and consulting agency representing the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. “Basquiat’s work continues to spark important conversations and encourages us to look at our worlds differently. This partnership on The Frame’s digital canvas allows his pieces to be experienced in anyone’s home, helping to share his work and honor his legacy.”
The new collection features unique pieces from throughout Basquiat’s career. Among the works available to Art Store subscribers are Bird on Money (1982), a stunning tribute to Charlie Parker. Also included is Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump (1982), King Zulu (1986), which offers a large color block of blue in his more refined late style; and a dual portrait with Andy Warhol, Dos Cabezas (1982), which like many of his works pulls inspiration from his Puerto Rican heritage.
This body of work was curated specifically for Samsung Art Store, adapted for a 16×9 format and were chosen based on their ability to be reproduced accurately, in keeping with Basquiat’s legacy.
Jean-Michel Basquiat emerged as one of the most significant artists of the 20th century, his work rich with themes of heritage, identity and the human experience. Beginning his career as a graffiti artist in New York City under the pseudonym SAMO, Basquiat later transitioned to canvas to express his unique blend of symbolic, abstract and figurative styles. His art, characterized by intense colors, dynamic figures and cryptic texts, delves into topics such as societal power structures, racial inequality and the quest for identity. Basquiat’s impact was monumental, leaving a lasting legacy in the art world that explores social issues through his interest in pop culture and his own deeply refined neo-expressionist style.
▲ Pez Dispenser (1984), one of Basquiat’s most recognizable artworks, displayed on The Frame
Since its founding in 2019, Samsung Art Store has been committed to bringing art from the world’s most renowned museums and important artists into homes across the world. The addition of the Basquiat collection significantly broadens the range of contemporary American artists whose works are now globally accessible for display.
“Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work stands completely alone in the history of contemporary art, which is why it was essential that some of his most brilliant pieces were represented in Samsung Art Store,” said Daria Greene, Global Curator at Samsung Art Store. “Basquiat’s preeminent place in our culture and unique message to the world is as necessary today as it ever was, and we’re so proud to help share that message and expand on his legacy.”
Basquiat’s work has been celebrated with numerous retrospectives and is held in prestigious collections globally, including those of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Menil Collection, Houston; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. His work continues to inspire new generations, embodying a bridge between street art and high art and challenging societal norms.
Explore Thousands of Works From Artists and Institutions Around the World
Alongside these new Basquiat pieces, viewers can explore thousands of additional artworks from masters such as Dalí and Van Gogh in Samsung Art Store,[1] available for instant display on The Frame. Additionally, in Samsung’s Art Store you will find work from major global institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Collection, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, the Prado Museum in Madrid and the Belvedere Museum in Vienna.
Samsung also recently refreshed The Frame line-up, with the new series now available for purchase. The 2024 line-up offers Pantone Art Validated Colors, so that every piece of art appears even more realistic, plus new Samsung Art Store – Streams, a complimentary set of regularly curated artworks sampled from Samsung Art Store. The Frame is even more energy efficient when in Art Mode, automatically adjusting the refresh rate so you can enjoy high-quality art, while conserving energy.[2]
ABOUT JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT
Jean-Michel 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 last 1970s through the 1980s until his death in 1988 at the age of 27. Basquiat’s 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.
ABOUT ARTESTAR
This partnership was done in collaboration with Artestar, a global licensing agency and creative consultancy representing high-profile artists, photographers, designers and creatives. Artestar connects brands with artists — curating and managing some of the world’s most recognizable creative collaborations. Learn more at artestar.com.
