03/03/2018
Ridons Death
1988
« One of Basquiat’s last works, Riding with Death from 1988, is displayed prominently in the final gallery of the Gagosian show, a placement that implies its prescient subject matter. The enormous canvas has been grounded with a dull, gray paint, a departure from the colorful backgrounds the artist typically employed. In the work’s center, a faceless figure is shown riding a skeleton, the back of its head facing the viewer. At this point in his career, the fame that Basquiat had achieved as an artist also became a double-edged sword. While it allowed for him and his family to live comfortably, it also enabled his drug addiction to become unmanageable, and eventually, fatal. »
Source: newamericanpainting.com