By Alexis Corral
The rise of the museum-quality gallery show hits a fever pitch this May in New York, as a flurry of blockbuster exhibitions fill galleries across the city. From the unexpected Urs Fischer showing in the Lower East Side to Cindy Sherman’s comeback in Chelsea, rejoice in the wealth and breadth of dynamic and in-depth new shows of major modern and contemporary artists. “Words Are All We Have,” Basquiat’s first solo exhibition at Nahmad, focuses on the essential part that language and music played in his oeuvre—the erratic, peculiar phrases, charged words recalling poetry of the disillusioned Beat Generation, and nods to jazz and hip-hop.
Curated by Basquiat scholar Dr. Dieter Buchhart, the exhibition carefully explores the methods to Basquiat’s madness.