Lot Essay
Executed in 1986, Untitled (Left Entrance Hall) combines the iconography of black heroes so central to Basquiats work with whimsical, fairytale figures of the fairground. The figures themselves are a smaller version of some of the decoration that Basquiat provided for André Hellers 'Luna Luna' circus, organized in Hamburg in 1987. Basquiat decorated a giant wheel with several small capsules for people to sit in, while other artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Georg Baselitz, Salvador Dali, Keith Haring and David Hockney made other contributions. A gift from Basquiat to Heller, Untitled (Left Entrance Hall) is a tribute from one anarchic and controversial art world figure to another, a touching record of their collaboration.