the art displayed in sparrow is an integral part of who we are and what makes us stand out. read about the artists the work is inspired by below, and a thank you to the artist Peter Le Floch for making this concept come to life.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was a New York artist who rose to acclaim in the 1980’s. His name first achieved recognition writing SAMO in a graffiti duo with Al Diaz. Together they wrote epigrams found all over the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It quickly became apparent that Basquiat’s contribution would leave a lasting impression in the world of Neo-expressionism. At the age of 22, he became the youngest to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial in New York. His work is a depiction of the social power struggles and class struggles he grew up with. He used his paintings as a tool to shed light on the Black community’s struggle for political and social equality. The prolific body of work Basquiat left the world continues to inspire every generation that comes into contact with it. After his death in 1988 at the young age of 27, his work began to steadily increase in popularity, and value landing him one of the top spots for most expensive works ever sold.
Jean-Michel Basquiat –––
Keith Allen
Haring ––––
Keith Allen Haring was born in Pennsylvania, but destined to fame in New York. Keith became friends with Angel Ortiz who is known in the graffiti world as “LA 2”. LA had street credit with the Gangs on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He used his influence to get Keith a pass to write in this neighborhood and the subways. This was the beginning of a collaboration that helped launched Keith’s career. Keith’s style of graffiti transformed into the iconic Pop Art images that shot him to stardom. His work deals with social activism such as advocating safe sex, AIDS awareness, and one of his most famous murals “Crack is Wack”. Haring died in 1990 due to AIDS-complications. He was 31 years old. Haring’s work has left a lasting impression that you can see in many of today’s contemporary artists. This strong influence on younger generations provided an induction on the “National LGBTQ Wall of Honor” at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City’s Stonewall Inn.