Jean-Michel Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols
Made possible by the Kenneth C. Griffin Collection. Artwork © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s, Inc. © 2026.
As Miami prepares to welcome a global audience for the FIFA World Cup, the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) has announced his upcoming exhibition “Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols” opening on June 25, 2026, offering a significant new opportunity to engage with the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The exhibition, featuring nearly a dozen of the artist’s most iconic pieces, will bring together nine paintings and one sculpture, showcasing Basquiat’s continued exploration of portraiture, the human form, and the intersection of script, language, and abstract composition.
While Basquiat’s popularity has surged in the marketplace and permeated popular culture through fashion, film, and music, “Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols” aims to deepen understanding of his technical and conceptual achievements.
The exhibition provides a rare and expansive opportunity to view Basquiat’s work in-depth, concentrating on his enduring themes such as the human head, often a dominant feature in his art.
Made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin Collection. Image courtesy of Kenneth C. Griffin. Artwork © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York
‘Untitled’ (1982) is one of the highlights, offering a powerful representation of the artist’s ongoing fascination with anatomy, while ‘In Italian’ (1983) Basquiat explores a complex relationship with the Renaissance tradition of anatomical study through a vibrant, “operating simultaneously as portrait, study, linguistic puzzle, and autobiographical document.”
‘Pez Dispenser’ (1984), a Pop Art’s painting of the iconic candy dispenser, offers a playful yet poignant critique of consumer culture, while ‘Untitled (Tenant)’ (1982) evokes German Expressionist depictions of bodies, incorporating elements of human fragility and societal tension.
The exhibition also navigates into the artist’s broader socio-political commentary. Basquiat’s works, rich in symbolism, address themes of race, class, religion, and history, subjects that resonate deeply within the context of Miami’s diverse and diasporic communities.
Made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin Collection. Image courtesy of Kenneth C. Griffin. Artwork © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York
Born to a Puerto Rican mother and Haitian father in Brooklyn, New York, Basquiat’s Caribbean heritage profoundly shaped his work, reflecting a unique worldview that resonates with the multicultural identity of South Florida.
Co-curated by Sandra and Tony Tamer Director, Franklin Sirmans, and Kenneth C. Griffin Collection Curator, Megan Kincaid, ‘Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols’ is designed to not only showcase Basquiat’s technical and conceptual contributions but also to offer deeper insight into the artist’s intellectual and cultural legacy.
“Miami’s layered histories, diasporic communities, and global outlook create a context where Basquiat’s visual language, rooted in memory, migration, and cultural hybridity, can be experienced with particular depth and immediacy,” said Franklin Sirmans.
“This is a compelling moment to revisit Jean-Michel Basquiat not as a market phenomenon or pop icon, but as a rigorous, self-taught master of painting and form. By bringing together works that are rarely seen in depth, we’re inviting audiences to slow down, to look closely, and to encounter a new way of understanding an artist whose name is universally known but whose complexity still demands deeper study,” he added.
For Sirmans, this presentation represents a continuation of his long-standing relationship with the artist’s work.
He first encountered Basquiat’s art as a young New Yorker, finding in it a raw intellectual and poetic energy that spoke to the emerging hip-hop and graffiti cultures of the time.
Made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin Collection. Artwork © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York.
As a curator, Sirmans has been integral in amplifying Basquiat’s legacy, from the 1992 Whitney Museum retrospective to the 2005 traveling exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum.
“By bringing these works together, audiences will see how Basquiat constructs meaning — layering references, symbols, and language in ways that forge connections and gain in complexity,” said Megan Kincaid.
“The works move between art history and contemporary culture, using humor and critique to reflect on mythmaking, socio-historical forces, and power — ultimately inviting viewers to look closely, sensemake, and think together,” she added.
‘Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols’ centers the museum experience: close looking, sustained time, and the rare opportunity to see works that are often encountered only as reproductions, headlines, or cultural shorthand, the museum states in a press release.
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The exhibition will also include a video of the artist speaking about his work, offering visitors a direct window into Basquiat’s voice and self-understanding.
The exhibition draws on works from the collection of Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel and a longstanding PAMM supporter, with the support of Griffin Catalyst, his civic engagement initiative.
signed, titled, dated 2013 and numbered AP 2/2 by Muna Tseng and stamped From the Estate of Tseng Kwong Chi. Provenance: Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton.
