Jean-Michel Basquiat was an influential African-American artist whose works became widely known in the New York gallery scene in the 1980s. Basquiat’s dramatic life and iconic paintings which variously feature obsessive scribbling, enigmatic symbols and diagrams, and iconography including skulls, masks, and the artist’s trademark crown – make him one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. Years after his death, his paintings can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and so on.
His work has inspired many artists who now paint in a similar neo-expressionist style. If you like Basquiat, you will like these artists:
Amadou Sanogo
Born in 1977, Malian artist Amadou Sanogo’s work explores themes of social and political injustice. His work focused on the human experience, often depicts a central figure whose body is contorted in shape, wearing a pained expression or altogether headless, representing a lack of vision among political leaders.
Sanogo’s background in studying the traditional technique of Bogolan, which is the iconic fabric of Malian culture, influences his work. He maintains a connection to the textile tradition in his practice by painting on found and repurposed fabrics rather than traditional canvas. Sanogo seeks to develop his own visual language, and intentionally leaves his work appearing unfinished, rejecting perfectionism and embracing the flaws in the human subjects he paints.
Image courtesy of Artsy
Aboudia
Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, the Ivorian contemporary artist known as Aboudia, (b.1983) chronicles the street scene and culture in his city of Abidjan. He is known for his vibrant, large-scale mixed-media paintings and drawings, which recall Jean-Michel Basquiat’s works. His paintings consist of layered figures, and often incorporate clippings from newspapers or magazines, and traditional African carvings to contextualize the work within current events. While his recurring skull, soldier, and bullet motifs speak to unthinkable trauma and brutality, Aboudia’s bright colour palettes reinforce the enduring innocence of the children who live amid the chaos. In 2022, he made the list as one of the artists that sold the most expensive artworks in the world.
Image courtesy of Artsy
Isshaq Ismail
Ghanaian-born artist Isshaq Ismail is known for his distinctive abstract style and the colourfully distorted face and figure portraits. Heavily influenced by Basquiat’s radical neo-expressionist styles, Ismail’s vibrant paintings investigate how the modern world’s social, cultural, and political components influence identity. Ismail draws faces and figures in impasto, usually with exaggerated features and in black or brown hues. His portraits also explore his fascination with themes such as desire, resilience, power, and optimism; they communicate stories and universal truths about communities all across the world.
Image courtesy of the artist
