Basquiat in Basel

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), the American painter and draughtsman, the Fondation Beyeler - set up by the talented collector Ernst Beyeler, who died last February - is devoting a major retrospective to this artist who emerged from the New York underground.
By The Editor -

From the outset, he was obsessed with death, painting graffiti, skeletal silhouettes and masked faces. In 1982, he took part in an exhibition of emerging artists such as Francesco Clemente and Julian Schnabel, who later made a feature-length film about him. He became friends with Madonna, Keith Haring and, thanks to Swiss art dealer Bruno Bischofberger, Andy Warhol. This strong friendship led to several collaborations. His compositions were powerful, inspired by music, comic strips and sport. But when the pope of pop art died, he became increasingly addicted to heroin and died of an overdose in August 1988, aged 27.

From 9 May to 5 September.
Fondation Beyeler
Baselstrasse, 101
Online ticketing at www.beyeler.com

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