47 x 47 cm (18.5 x 18.5 inches)
Mixed medium on cardboard
Framed
In King Jean, Studio 198 brings together instinct, surface, and symbol in a work that channels the raw immediacy associated with Jean-Michel Basquiat, while asserting its own material identity.
Executed in spray paint and acrylic on cardboard, the piece embraces a direct and unfiltered approach to mark-making. Layers of pigment are built and disrupted in quick succession — sprayed, brushed, and interrupted — creating a surface that feels both spontaneous and deliberate. The cardboard support remains present, grounding the composition in a tactile, almost provisional reality.
Fragments of line, gesture, and implied iconography emerge across the surface, resisting fixed interpretation. Marks appear as visual shorthand — part language, part instinct — suggesting a coded system that is felt rather than fully deciphered. This tension between clarity and ambiguity gives the work its energy.
The square format introduces balance, containing the expressive force within a disciplined structure. Colour relationships shift across the surface, creating moments of intensity alongside quieter passages where the material breathes.
Presented framed, the work achieves a considered equilibrium between rawness and refinement — preserving its immediacy while situating it within a contemporary gallery context.
This is a one-off original.