BASIL KING – Visual Artist and Poet (b. 1935, London, England)
bazink3@gmail.com| www.basilking.net | 718-788-7927
Education
1949-51 Cass Technical High School, Detroit, Michigan
1951-56 Black Mountain College, North Carolina. Studies with Esteban Vicente, Joseph Fiore, Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Robert Creeley, Stefan Wolpe, Peter Voulkos
1960-64 Part-time studio assistant for Adolph Gottlieb, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2017 – John Molloy Gallery, New York City: “Basil King – Bird Scripts”
2016 – Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Asheville, NC: “Between Painting and Writing”
2016 – St. Andrews University, Laurinburg, NC: “Basil King’s Birds”
2010 – Poets House, New York City: “The Green Man”
2006 – Bowery Poetry Club, New York City: “Rimbaud’s Seaside”
1994 – Gotham Book Mart Gallery, New York City: “Mirage”
1989 – Granary Books Gallery, New York City: “Paintings from The Cards”
1981 – Poetry Project at St. Marks, New York City: “Paul and Joan”
1979 – Fifth Street Gallery, New York City: “Brides of Algate”
1977 – Kirkland Art Center, Clinton, New York: “Basil King”
1974 – University of Kansas Museum of Art, Lawrence, Kansas:
“Visions of a Great Rememberer: Basil King and Allen Ginsberg”
1973 – Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan: “Basil King”
1970 – Judson Memorial Church, New York City: “Algate Narcissus”
Selected Group Exhibitions
2014 – Brooklyn Academy of Music, Opera House gallery: “Black Mountain College Artists”
2013 – Asheville Museum, North Carolina: “Lasting Gifts from Black Mountain College”
2012 – Center for Book and Paper Arts, Columbia College, Chicago: “Poems and Pictures”
2010 – RIT’s Innovation Center, Rochester, New York: “Black Mountain North”
2010 – The Center for Book Arts, New York City: “Poems & Pictures, 1946-1981”
2008 – Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, North Carolina: “The Spirit of Black Mountain College”
2006 – Bridgett Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA: “Greetings from Black Mountain College”
2002 – Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sophia, Madrid: “Black Mountain College: Experiment in Art”
2002 – Arts Center, Hendersonville, NC: “From the Black Mountain College Museum Collection”
1996/93 – Gallery 53, Cooperstown, NY: Three exhibitions: “Stealing Home”, “A Whole New Ballgame”, “Pitchers and Pictures”
1990 – National Academy of Design, NY: “165th Annual Exhibition”
1988 – Grey Gallery, New York University: “The Arts at Black Mountain College”
1987/1992 – New York State Museum, Albany, NY and then on national tour sponsored by The Smithsonian: “Diamonds Are Forever: Artists and Writers on Baseball”
1987 – Edith Bum Center, Bard College, Annandale, New York and North Carolina State Museum, Raleigh,
North Carolina: “The Arts at Black Mountain College”
1983 – David Findlay, Jr., Gallery, New York City: “Homage to the Brooklyn Bridge”
1971 – University of Kansas Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS: “Retrospective for a Critic: The Gene Swenson Collection”
1967 – New York University Loeb Student Center, New York City: “Origins and Cycles”
Selected Bibliography
2020 – “Light Abstracts the Smallest Things: The Aesthetics of Basil King,” essays on King’s art and his poetry, edited by Burt Kimmelman; Talisman House
2017 – “Review of Basil King’s History Now” by Joshua A.W. Gardner; Journal of Poetic Research
2014 – “Reactions to Basil King’s Work” by Madeline Tiger; Jacket2
2013 – “The Language of Devotion: Basil King’s Life in Art” by Tim Keane; Hyperallergic
2011 – “Bring it Home” an appreciation of King’s work by Laurie Duggan; Big Bridge #1
Books and Chapbooks
2022 – After Thought, limited edition artist’s book with 12 page spreads, featuring facing poems and paintings. New York: Granary Books
2020 – Disparate Beasts: Basil King’s Beastiary, Part 2; 138 pages; New York: Marsh Hawk Press
2017 – History Now from Learning to Draw/A history; 96 pages; New York: Marsh Hawk Press
2015 – Grey from Learning to Draw/A history, unpaged; New Haven: Cy Gist
2014 – The Spoken Word/The Painted Hand from Learning to Draw/A history, 104 pages, with 3 King photographs; New York: Marsh Hawk Press.
2012 – Portraits, 36 pages (unpaged) with 10 King drawings; New York: Cy Gist.
2011 – Learning to Draw/A History, 270 pages, with cover art and frontispiece by King; Cheltenham, UK: Skylight Press.
2010 – Wild Cards from Learning to Draw/A history, 42 pages (unpaged),with interior art by King; New York: Cy Gist Press.
2009 – In the Field Where Daffodils Grow from Learning to Draw/A history, 38 pages, with King art on cover and interior; New York: Libellum Books
2007 – 77 Beasts: Basil King’s Beastiary, 176 pages, New York: Marsh Hawk Press
2006 – Solo, from Learning to Draw/A history, 28 pages (unpaged), West Hartford, Ct: Small Chapbook Project
2005 – Twin Towers, from Learning to Draw/A history, 26 pages, Austin, Texas: Skanky Possum chapbook
2003 – Mirage: A poem in 22 sections, 160 pages, with cover, back cover art and an unpaged portfolio of 7 oil paintings by King; New York: Marsh Hawk Press
2001 – Warp Spasm, 116 pages, with cover art by King; New York: Spuyten Duyvil
2000 – Identity, 36 pages, with cover and 6 paintings by King; New York: Spuyten Duyvil
– The Poet, 228 pages, 115 sketch portraits in pencil with 39 brief narratives about each poet; New York: Spuyten Duyvil
1997 – Devotions with Selections from A Painter’s Bestiary, 74 pages, with 14 King drawings; London, England: Stop Press
1997 – The Complete Miniatures, 54 pages, with 11 King drawings; London, England: Stop Press
1986 – Split Peas, 16 page chapbook, with cover and 8 drawings by King; Pittsburgh: Zelot Press
Film
2012 — “Basil King: MIRAGE” – 22 minute documentary. Filmed in King’s studio with voice-over text from his poetry book mirage and close-ups of his paintings and graphics; produced and directed by Nicole Peyrafitte and Miles Joris Peyrafitte
2012–“‘art is not natural ‘– A Speaking Portrait of Basil King” — 10 minutes. Filmed and edited by George Quasha
Collections
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
Asheville Art Museum
Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center
Gladstone Museum of Baseball Art
Grand Valley State Colleges
North Carolina State Museum of Art
Poets House, New York City
Spencer Collection at The New York Public Library
Springfield (Massachusetts) Museum of Art
University of Kansas Museum of Art
Yale University
Wadsworth Atheneum
Selected Graphics and Book Art
2022 – Hurricane Review #19, Jamey Jones, editor
2021– Basil King Portfolio, witty partition #14, Bronwyn Mills, editor
2016 – Broadside for “A Paul Blackburn Celebration”, St. Marks Poetry Project
2013 –Gradually the World, Burt Kimmelman; BlazeVox
2012 –Tiny Gold Dress, John Godfrey; Lunar Chandelier
–Rouge, Kimberly Lyons; Instance Press
2011 – Allotments, Laurie Duggan; fewer and further Press
2006 – Seven and More, Martha King and Basil King; Spuyten Duyvil
2004 – Imperfect Fit, Martha King; Marsh Hawk Press
2002 – To the Uzbekistani Soldier Who Would Not Save My Life, Susan Smith Nash; Avec Books
2001 – Poetry New York, #12, Burt Kimmelman, editor
2000 – Little Tales of Family and War, Martha King; Spuyten Duyvil
– Lorca/Blackburn,Paul Blackburn translations of Lorca; Stop Press (UK)
1999 – Sequentia. Theodore Enslin; Stop Press (UK)
1997 – The Earth Suite, Carl Rakosi; Etruscan Books (UK)
1996 – Situations #10, Joe Elliot, et al., editors
– First Intensity, Lee Chapman, editor
1993 – Hanging Loose #63, Robert Hershon, et al., editors
1990 – Opening the Eyelid, David Rattray; diwan press
1989 – Rolling Stock, # 15/16; Edward and Jennifer Dorn, editors
1987 – Against Numerology, Richard Caddel; North and South (UK)
1982 – Maatsdorf #6, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Bert Bakker, editor
1979 – Winter Journey, Halvard Johnson; New Rivers Press
1978 – Weather, Martha King; New Rivers Press
1976 – The Psychology Calendar 1977; Mulch Press
1974 – Visions of the Great Rememberer, Allen Ginsberg; Mulch Press
1972 – Piere Vidal, as selected and translated by Paul Blackburn; Mulch Press
1970 – MeatAir, Ron Loewinsohn; Harcourt, Brace & World
1968 – The Sea, Around Us, Ron Loewinsohn; Black Sparrow
1961 – Preface to a Twenty-Volume Suicide Note, LeRoi Jones; Totem/Corinth
– Yugen, #6 , LeRoi Jones and Hettie Cohen-Jones, editors
1959 – Watermelons, Ron Loewinsohn; Totem Press
– Yugen, #5, Yugen, #4, Yugen, #1; LeRoi Jones and Hettie Cohen-Jones, editors
Editorial Activity
Founder and editor of the magazine, Mulch (1970 -76) and Mulch Press books (1972 -77)