Pyro 1984

Jean-Michel Basquiat made Pyro with paint on canvas. The furious yellows and reds, scribbled lines, and raw figuration are classic Basquiat. I imagine him wrestling with this canvas, layering images, crossing them out, letting his subconscious roam free. Look at the central figure, almost a self-portrait of the artist as a kind of shaman or tormented spirit. See the white teeth, the bulging eyes? It reminds me of some of Picasso’s more aggressive portraits. The paint is applied thickly in some areas, scratched away in others, creating a dense, layered surface that feels both urgent and primal. It's like he's building up a psychic map. You see how Basquiat, like many artists, is in dialogue with the past, riffing on art history while forging his own unique language? It's all about intuition, embracing the mess, and trusting that something meaningful will emerge from the chaos.