Ken Griffin Opens $500 Million Basquiat Show at PAMM With 10 Works
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 24
Ken Griffin Opens $500 Million Basquiat Show at PAMM With 10 Works
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 24
Summary
$68 billion Citadel founder Ken Griffin has lent 10 Jean-Michel Basquiat works—nine paintings and one sculpture—to Pérez Art Museum Miami, where the exhibition opens to the public on Thursday.
The show, "Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols," brings together works Griffin said he bought over the past few years for about $500 million, marking his emergence as a major force on Miami's art scene.
One centerpiece is Basquiat's 1982 untitled skull painting, the artist's auction record holder at $110.5 million in 2017; Griffin later acquired it privately from Yusaku Maezawa after what he called a multiyear pursuit.
Griffin said the buying spree was not an investment bet but part of a collecting approach focused on art that delivers an immediate emotional jolt and then invites deeper contemplation.