This fall, Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris will present the landmark exhibition Jean-Michel Basquiat, bringing together 120 works that trace the blazing career of the artist from 1980 to 1988. Installed across all four floors of the museum’s Frank Gehry building, the retrospective will be rich in firsts, and will shed light on key characteristics of Basquiat’s art, including his inimitable touch, infatuation with words, dazzling complexity, and explosive political consciousness. Setting aside everything extraneous, from biographical myths to considerations of market value, this exhibition will be an opportunity to see Basquiat clearly: as a great artist and a genius of draughtsmanship.

Highlights include:

• Basquiat’s exceptional trilogy Heads (1981-82), presented together for the first time
• Collaborations between Basquiat and Andy Warhol including Dos Cabezas (1982), which marked the beginning of the mutual fascination and collaboration between the artists
• Works that have never been seen in Europe, such as Obnoxious Liberals (1982), In Italian (1983) and Riding with Death (1988)
• Paintings that have rarely been seen since their first presentations during the artist’s lifetime, such as Offensive Orange (1982), Untitled (Boxer) (1982) and Untitled (Yellow Tar and Feathers) (1982)

Jean-Michel Basquiat is organized by the Fondation Louis Vuitton in collaboration with the Brant Foundation and is curated by Artistic Director Suzanne Pagé and independent curator Dieter Buchhart. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue featuring essays by Buchhart and Pagé, as well as distinguished scholars and curators including Okwui Enwezor, Olivier Michelon, Jordana Moore Saggese, Francesco Pellizi, Paul Schimmel and Franklin Sirmans. 

EGON SCHIELE (October 3, 2018–January 14, 2019)

During this same period, a solo exhibition of work by 19th century Austrian painter Egon Schiele will be on view on the first floor of the Fondation Louis Vuitton. The first exhibition in Paris dedicated to the artist in 25 years, Egon Schiele will feature approximately 120 works—drawings, gouaches, and paintings—including masterpieces such as Self-Portrait with a Chinese Lantern (1912, Leopold Museum, Vienna), Pregnant Woman and Death (1911, Národní Galerie, Prague), Portrait of the Artist’s Wife Seated, Holding Her Right Leg (1917, Morgan Library & Museum, New York), Standing Nude with Blue Sheet (1914, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg), Seated Male Nude (1910, Neue Galerie, New York), and Self-Portrait (1912, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.).

Egon Schiele is organized by the Fondation Louis Vuitton and is curated by Artistic Director Suzanne Pagé and independent curator Dieter Buchhart. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue featuring essays by Buchhart and Pagé, as well as distinguished scholars and curators including Jean Clair, Alessandra Comini and Jane Kallir.