Artist Bearbricks by Jean-Michel Basquiat

One of the longest-continued lines of all

The Basquiat Bearbricks are numbered — 1st Version, 2nd Version and onwards — and the line has kept going for years. That’s unusual: most artist collaborations stop at one or two models.

The reason is in the work. Basquiat’s vocabulary is made of marks that stand alone: crown, skull, handwriting, crossed-out words, raw blocks of colour. Those elements can be rearranged without losing their force, so each version can draw on a different painting and still read instantly as Basquiat.

The releases are made in agreement with the estate of the artist, who died in 1988. Collectors tend to build this one as a run — the numbering invites it. Other artist designs are under Bearbricks with motifs from modern artists.