Yorkville is getting a new Basquiat exhibit and it’s absolutely free, Canada Reviews

Toronto art lovers will soon have the chance to experience works by one of the most celebrated and influential artists of the modern era — free.

Beginning May 28, Taglialatella Galleries will present Jean-Michel Basquiat / Editions, a major exhibition celebrating 25 years of limited-edition prints released by the Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The exhibition runs through June 11 and includes a public opening reception on May 28 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

This exhibition does not feature original works.

The Yorkville exhibition will showcase some of Basquiat’s most iconic images through a curated selection of editioned works produced posthumously over the last quarter century. Among the highlights is King Alphonso, 1982/2025, the latest release from the Basquiat estate, created in collaboration with Pace Prints and Flatiron Editions.

Limited to just 60 screenprints, King Alphonso is one of Basquiat’s celebrated 1982 works and explores themes that defined much of the artist’s work — race, power, mythology and identity.

“Basquiat’s work continues to resonate across generations because it speaks to culture, identity, power, and creativity in a way that still feels urgent today,” said Alan Ganev, partner at Taglialatella Galleries. “This exhibition is about making that legacy accessible.”

Born in Brooklyn in 1960, Basquiat emerged from New York’s downtown art scene in the late 1970s after first gaining attention through graffiti under the name SAMO. By the early 1980s, he had become one of the defining figures of Neo-Expressionism, blending graffiti, text, abstract painting and raw figuration into works that challenged racism, inequality, celebrity culture and historical narratives.

In recent years, his paintings have become among the most valuable in the world, with several works selling for more than USD $90 million at auction.

The Art Gallery of Ontario hosted a major Basquiat exhibition in 2015 to much acclaim.

The Toronto exhibition features several of Basquiat’s most recognizable works, including Flexible, 1984/2016, whose original painting sold for more than USD $45 million, and Charles the First, 1982/2005, Basquiat’s tribute to jazz icon Charlie Parker, whose original fetched more than USD $93 million in 2022.

Visitors will also be able to view Hollywood Africans in front of the Chinese Theater with Footprints of Movie Stars, 1983/2015, a work examining race and celebrity culture that references Basquiat’s acclaimed Hollywood Africans painting, now housed at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Other featured works include Cabeza, 1982/2005, known for Basquiat’s iconic skeletal head imagery, and Phooey, 1982/2021, a huge seven-foot-wide composition filled with the symbolism and layered text that became hallmarks of his art.

While Basquiat’s original paintings are now largely held in museums and private collections, Taglialatella Galleries says editioned works offer a more accessible way for the public to engage with the artist’s legacy.

Jean-Michel Basquiat / Editions runs May 28 to June 11 at 99 Yorkville Ave.