His Glue Sniffing Valet 1984

Jean-Michel Basquiat made this painting called, "His Glue Sniffing Valet," and in it, he’s using paint, and maybe oil stick, in a way that feels really intuitive and process-oriented. Look at the red rectangle at the bottom, it’s a solid, almost angry block of color. Above that, the space opens up, and Basquiat's marks become these frantic, agitated gestures, like the scribbled figure getting bashed over the head. The texture is raw; you can almost feel the speed of his hand. There's this incredible rawness in how he applies the paint, thin in some areas, thick in others, creating a surface that's both chaotic and controlled. Basquiat’s work always reminds me Cy Twombly, and that whole lineage of artists who aren’t afraid to let the messiness of life seep into their work, where ambiguity and multiple interpretations reign. It’s like art becomes this ongoing conversation across time, an exchange of ideas that's never truly finished.