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Jean-Michel Basquiat is one of the world’s foremost contemporary artists. The Brooklyn, New York native shares Haitian and Puerto Rican heritage.

Though his career was short-lived (he sadly passed away at the age of 27), his influence and legacy are world-renowned. Launched late last month at Seoul’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) is Signs: Connecting Past and Future, on through January 31, 2026.

This is Korea’s largest-ever Basquiat exhibition, containing more than 70 paintings and drawings collected from nine countries (in total, he produced over 1,000 paintings and close to 3,000 drawings). Basquiat’s scribbles, symbols, and words were often first formed on paper and later used on canvas.

Basquiat’s warrior and power figures reflect an era of oppression and racial injustice. His figures stand as icons of Black resistance and resilience. This warrior tradition also translates well into Korean art, sharing a close resemblance in affirmation of the human spirit.

In fact, Basquiat spent time in Japan, Thailand, and Hong Kong, expanding his artistic language through Asian travels. The artist fused history, identity, language, symbols, race – even comics – into works that captured New York’s raw energy of the 1980’s.

In addition to traditional canvas, Basquiat painted on postcards, clothing, collage, and found objects including windows, refrigerators, and TVs, created from his Crosby Street studio.

His art is “not a fixed answer but a continuous process – not a text to be read but a language to be seen heard, and felt.”

Jean-Michel lived like a flame. He burned really bright. The fire went out, but the embers are still hot – Fab 5 Freddy

Together with the media on display is over 160 pages from Basquiat’s personal notebooks.

If you’re in town, don’t miss this key exhibition, and plan to wander around DDP’s futuristic buildings (akin to Chicago’s Cloud Gate aka “Bean”) and design store as well.