Basquiat's intense works on paper are at the center of his first exhibition in Denmark

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark, is hosting "Headstrong," a retrospective of 50 works on paper by Jean-Michel Basquiat, running until May 17. The exhibition focuses on Basquiat's depictions of the human head and body, created between 1981 and 1983, and first shown posthumously in 1990. It is the first solo museum presentation of Basquiat in Scandinavia, featuring loans from private collections and international museums, highlighting a lesser-known aspect of the artist's practice.

This exhibition matters because it brings to light a previously overlooked series of Basquiat's work—his intense, centered drawings of heads that were hidden in his studio until after his death. The show offers a new perspective on his artistic output in Europe, revealing how these works, with their clenched teeth, layered lines, and hallucinatory quality, serve as metaphors for individual decay and societal critique during the Reagan era. By treating these drawings as a standalone chapter rather than preliminary sketches, the museum reframes Basquiat's legacy and deepens understanding of his graphic oeuvre.