‘Unique’ and ‘beautifully personal’, was what program manager Bo Naarden called the artwork when it was hung on the wall of Kunstlinie in February. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s collage, with excerpts from magazines and lots of red paint, was the highlight of the exhibition shape shifters about street art. Hung for months Nancy the red work in Almere, on loan from a private collection.
An unknown work of art by a world-famous artist at a rather unknown exhibition location in Almere. That was remarkable to say the least. And actually highly unlikely, thought some local art lovers and connoisseurs. When Omroep Flevoland inquired at Kunstlinie last week about this ‘unlikely Basquiat’, Kunstlinie said that ‘the origin has been checked’. on the radio Bo Naarden called the issue ‘blown up’. Now a close friend of Basquiat has made a statement about it. He calls the artwork ‘very bad counterfeit’.
In a short period of time Basquiat (1960-1988) rose from street artist in New York in the eighties to darling of the art world. He was friends with Andy Warhol, dated Madonna and sold his art at Larry Gagosian’s renowned gallery. He died when he was only 27 years old from a heroin overdose. Yet his star continues to rise. Also in the art market: in 2017 a large painting by Basquiat changed hands for 99 million euros, one of the most expensive works of art ever. A Basquiat collage of the size that hung in Almere would be worth millions.
Caroline in ‘t Veld, a volunteer for a local newspaper and broadcaster, had doubts about the celebrated Basquiat of shape shifters. Out of her own enthusiasm for the exhibition, she wanted to write an article about how this Basquiat ended up in Almere. However, she met a lover of Basquiat’s work who told her that he believed the collage was a forgery. Subsequently, In ‘t Veld could not find any information about the work. A certificate of authenticity is missing. She could not go to Basquiat’s heirs. Since 2012 (after a lawsuit that was too expensive) they no longer make statements about the authenticity of unknown works, just like the heirs of Andy Warhol and Keith Haring.
She put out an appeal in the local paper, “Have you ever seen Nancy before?” And she enlisted the help of artist Ine Reijnen (artist name Airco Caravan), a great admirer of Basquiat. Reijnen looked at images of the artwork and concluded that it could not have been Basquiat’s due to the composition, handwriting and technique. There are no known collages with magazines by the artist.
In ‘t Veld tried to trace the provenance through Kunstlinie. After much insistence, she got a pdf with information, through the Spanish gallery Spain Fine Art, who had contact with the Dutch owner, who lives in Spain. According to that remarkably brief document, the collage was bought in 1981 or 1982 from the artist and his friend Al Díaz. In addition, it would have been featured in exhibitions curated by Al Díaz in recent years.
Reijnen, who lives in New York, contacted Al Díaz. Promptly, Díaz posted the collage to his Instagram page this week, calling it “trash”: “Another great example of how ignorant and easily deceived most people are when it comes to art.” He went on to say that he had ‘NOTHING AT ALL’ to do with this and used the hashtag ‘really bad fake basquiats’. According to him, this owner has several counterfeits in Spain that she has been trying to market for some time. On the advice of his lawyer, Díaz contacted Kunstlinie.
Kunstlinie is a ‘stage, art hall and city forum’ in Almere. The cultural organization is aware of Al Díaz’ message and will leave Tuesday in a statement know: ‘Art line respects his (Al Díaz’, red.) judgment of Basquiat’s work.’ A Kunstlinie spokesperson added by e-mail: ‘However, that does not mean that we exclude the possibility that the work could be real.’ The exhibition space does intend to ‘pay extra attention to . in the future provenance-checks (origin investigation red.) at large group exhibitions like this one’.
The exhibition with national and international street art was initiated by Kunstlinie, where the Zaandam art dealership Vroom & Varossieau was hired as a specialist in street art and as a co-producer. Isabelle Vroom says in a response that she finds Caroline in ‘t Veld’s investigation into the authenticity of the Basquiat ‘in fact not complete’ and ‘one-sided’. On the gallery’s website there is a call for ‘sell your art (collection)’. Vroom & Varossieau appear to be interested in works of art by Banksy, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, among others. Vroom explains that the gallery only trades in Basquiat’s works if they are provided with ‘the correct papers, demonstrable provenance (origin history, red.) and condition research’. She says that she cannot make any statements about the authenticity of the collage that was shown in Almere: ‘I’d like to leave that to the experts.’
Found Basquiats
Earlier this year, the FBI raided the Orlando Museum of Art and seized 25 “recovered Basquiats.” Director Aaron De Groft, himself an art historian, previously referred to ‘some of Basquiat’s very best works’ that the owner would have forgotten for decades. A few days after this raid, the museum director was fired after it was revealed that he had tried to blackmail an art historian by email.