Basquiat’s $20m work takes centre stage in Phillips sale

“We were both 19 years young when Basquiat and I met through [the rapper and artist] Fab 5 Freddy,” says the graffiti artist Lee Quinones. “I was an introvert who smiled a lot out of nerves, whereas Jean was an introvert who out-poured with islands of resilient commentary.” Quinones, along with the poet and critic Christian Campbell and the curators LeRonn Brooks and Ashley James, are due to discuss Jean-Michel Basquiat’s influence at Phillips on Friday, following the unveiling of Flexible (1984), a highlight of the auction house’s evening sale on 17 May. Painted on a 10ft-tall slatted wood support, the work, which was bought by the seller from the artist and is coming to market for the first time, has an estimate in excess of $20m