To know Jean-Michel Basquiat, look at his art

A painting can "Not simply be reduced to what only a formal examination of its evidentiary summary allows", writes curator and art critic Okwui Enwezor in the exhibition catalogue to Basquiat, a retrospective of 120 masterpieces showing at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris alongside an exhibition of Egon Schiele's work, another major force in 20th-century art Jean-Michel Basquiat's work was concerned with issues of "Race, identity, masculinity and social agency", adds Enwezor The artist's sister, Lisane Basquiat, interviewed in the latest documentary on him says: "If you want to know about Jean-Michel, look at his work" Several retrospectives since 1992 firmly stamped the artist's reputation as one of the giants of contemporary art. More