Miami’s art scene does not die in the summer. Not everyone is hiding indoors from the humidity like raccoons avoiding daylight. If you are paying attention, signing up to the right newsletters, a show like this pops up and reminds you that Miami has evolved into a full-time cultural city.
The Bonnier Gallery is presenting Jean-Michel Basquiat: Selected Works, 1978–1988, a massive exhibition featuring approximately 100 works spanning Basquiat’s entire documented career. Curated by Grant Bonnier, the exhibition runs Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., through June 30, 2026, at the gallery’s space in Little River.
And honestly?
This is the kind of exhibition that elevates not just a gallery, but an entire city.
Basquiat remains one of the most mythologized and culturally important artists of the late 20th century. The Brooklyn-born artist exploded out of downtown New York under the graffiti tag SAMO before becoming one of the defining figures of Neo-Expressionism. His work fused text, anatomy, jazz, race, history, capitalism, celebrity, and Black identity into canvases that still feel urgent nearly forty years later.
Raw, chaotic, smart, punk rock, beautiful.
What makes this exhibition special is its scope.
The show traces Basquiat’s evolution from teenage postcards and collages to major late-period works completed shortly before his death in 1988. Paintings, works on paper, sculpture, photography, collaborative works with Andy Warhol, and rare ephemera all help paint a fuller portrait of the artist beyond the mythology.
It is rare to get this kind of concentrated Basquiat exhibition outside of major museums or international art fairs. The fact that it is happening in Miami, in late May and June, says something important about where the city is culturally right now.
Founded in 2018, The Bonnier Gallery has steadily built a reputation for thoughtful postwar and contemporary programming with an emphasis on minimalist and conceptual work, while also supporting dialogue between visual art and literature. But this exhibition feels like another level entirely. Bigger. Bolder. More ambitious.
And that matters.
Because there is a growing “Miami Full Time” movement happening culturally. A rejection of the idea that Miami only matters during Art Basel, Formula 1 weekend, or tourist season. Increasingly, the city’s galleries, theaters, musicians, filmmakers, writers, and artists are creating year-round ecosystems that rival larger cultural capitals.
This Basquiat exhibition feels like part of that movement.
Miami is not dead in the summer. Quite the opposite.
But the people paying attention already know that.
(Unfortunately you missed the opening night jam May 9th, but the exhibition runs to June 30th). For more info about this exhibition, click here.
