The artist would often create form using simple lines very similar to illustrative techniques. In this example he draws basic figures and appends these with words and text to illustrate their meaning. He had several themes that are used over and over again across his career and some of these can be found directly in the painting in front of us here. The most common of these themes would be social and racial issues as well as religious themes and also other items from his studies of European art history. The artist was a proud supporter of the Afro-Caribbean community and would often put messages around their own difficulties within his work and try to promote a greater fairness within society more generally.
Jean-Michel Basquiat came from a background of street and graffiti art and this can be seen within all of his famous paintings. He was in fact homeless for a period of time and this helped to give him a real understanding of the diverse and poorer parts of society as compared to his colleagues who came from white middle-class backgrounds and had lived very privileged lives. This also gave his career a very unique style which would become a mjor part of his success. In today's world there has been greater exposure of and interest in Afro-Caribbean art. Basquiat is a fine example of that and having already achieved international acclaim he could successfully spearhead this new movement which continues to gain momentum every year.
This artwork is believed to be a part of the Davos Collection in Switzerland and you will find a number of interesting cultural venues within this part of the country. The Kirchner Museum is particularly interesting and there are also other art and antiquities featured within the town, and in other nearby locations. They specialise most in Swiss and German artists, such as the likes of Marc, Kirchner, Macke and Klee, but they also own several items from Basquiat's career, besides just False as found here. There is an excellent display of Expressionist work to be found here, therefore, and fans of modern art more generally will enjoy many of the artworks found within this respected collection.
