Art dealer, publisher, curator and art historian, Fred Hoffman worked closely with Jean-Michel Basquiat from 1982-1984. During that period Basquiat and Hoffman produced six, now highly recognized silk screen limited editions. In addition Hoffman facilitated the production of the artist’s 1984 silk screen paintings. Hoffman arranged for Basquiat’s first European museum exhibition at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland (1984); and placed the first work by the Jean-Michel Basquiat into a major museum collection ( The Museum of Modern Art, 1984). For several years Fred Hoffman served on the Authentication Committee for the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Having curated the last American retrospective of Jean-Michel Basquiat for the Brooklyn Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Museum of Fine Art, Houston (2005-2006). Fred Hoffman has dedicated the last four years to the realization of The Art of Jean-Michel Basquiat. This major undertaking represents the first full-scale, single -author study of Basquiat’s art. The book focuses on all major themes and subjects of both paintings and works on paper. Having been intimately familiar with Basquiat’s work for over 35 years, Fred Hoffman has now undertaken in-depth analysis and interpretation of over 150 works by the artist. The author brings to light many historical and cultural sources and traditions informing Basquiat’s work; as well as the artist’s relationship to important modernist painters including Picasso, Matisse, De Kooning, Rauschenberg and Warhol. This book introduces significant new information on Basquiat’s life and art. For the first time, the author shares many previously unknown facts and stories about the artist.