Flexible
Flexible
Unsigned Print
Jean-Michel Basquiat
£70,000-£100,000Value
Indicator
$130,000-$190,000 Value Indicator
$120,000-$170,000 Value Indicator
¥630,000-¥900,000 Value Indicator
€80,000-€120,000 Value Indicator
$690,000-$980,000 Value Indicator
¥12,730,000-¥18,190,000 Value Indicator
$90,000-$130,000 Value Indicator
This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren’t enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Screen print in colours on heavy wove paper. S. 153.5 x 116 cm. (60 3/8 x 45 5/8 in.). Published in 2016 in an edition of 85.
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Jean-Michel Basquiat's Flexible (unsigned) is a screenprint from 2016, with an estimated value between £70,000 and £100,000. Over the past 12 months, the average return to the seller has been £52,396, with a total of 7 sales. In the last five years, the hammer price has varied from £30,540 in April 2022 to a high of £176,013 in July 2023. Since its first sale in October 2017, this artwork has been sold 23 times at auction, showing an average annual growth rate of 5%. This piece is part of a limited edition of 85.
Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2023 | Poly Auction Hong Kong Limited - Hong Kong | Flexible - Unsigned Print | |||
| July 2023 | Christie's New York - United States | Flexible - Unsigned Print | |||
| July 2023 | Sotheby's Singapore - Singapore | Flexible - Unsigned Print | |||
| June 2023 | Phillips New York - United States | Flexible - Unsigned Print | |||
| May 2023 | Phillips Hong Kong - Hong Kong | Flexible - Unsigned Print | |||
| April 2023 | Phi Auctions - United States | Flexible - Unsigned Print | |||
| March 2023 | SBI Art Auction - Japan | Flexible - Unsigned Print |
Meaning & Analysis
Flexible is a screen print in colours by Jean-Michel Basquiat, produced in 1984. This print depicts a human figure with arms which appear to be joined up. The figure is a West African griot, a storyteller who would be responsible for passing on tribal histories and genealogies. The image is a primary example of the influence of West African culture on Basquiat’s oeuvre. Basquiat made one trip to Africa, in August 1986 for an exhibition organised by art dealer Bruno Bischofberger at the French Cultural Institute of Cote D’Ivoire.
The figure, with its interlocked limbs, projects omniscience and authority. Unlike the figures surrounded by a cacophony of images, scrawls and loud colours, the figure of Flexible bears an air of stillness and calm. Nevertheless, we still see the internal body emerging through the figure’s skin, with lungs and the spine drawn in white, appearing to protrude from the subject’s body.
The print is based on a painting on wood created in the same year as the printing. Basquiat used a section of a fence from his studio in Venice, California. A similar slatted wood material was used for other works such as Gold Griot (1984) and Jim Crow (1986).
