Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s figures, coded language and visual symbols take focus in PAMM’s major presentation of ten works from the Kenneth C. Griffin Collection. On view June 25, 2026 through June 6, 2027, Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols is the largest exhibition of the artist’s work presented to date in Florida. The exhibition examines how Basquiat built a distinctive visual vocabulary through portraiture, text, color, gesture and layered references.

Basquiat’s brief but prolific career drew from wide-ranging sources, including world history, Renaissance anatomical studies, art history, graffiti, comic books and corporate logos. His work was also shaped by the music, clubs and street culture of 1980s New York, where hip-hop, punk, fashion and film were reshaping contemporary art and urban culture.

As the son of a Puerto Rican mother and Haitian father, Basquiat brought personal heritage and cultural critique into a practice that continues to resonate across generations. The exhibition explores how his paintings merge signs, symbols and figures into works that address identity, power, memory and the visual language of modern life. An illustrated publication accompanies the exhibition.