Is there anything new to say about the mid-1980s collaboration between Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat? Dieter Buchhart thinks so. The co-curator of the exhibition Basquiat x Warhol: Painting with four hands at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris says research undertaken for the show reveals the pair began collaborating earlier than previously thought.
It is believed that Basquiat first met Warhol in 1979 when the young artist tried to sell the Pop art master some of his postcards. The pair met more formally in 1982 when Bruno Bischofberger, the dealer representing the two artists, took Basquiat to Warhol’s Factory studio in Manhattan for a photo shoot. The couple are believed to have created around 160 works together between 1984 and 1986, and the Paris exhibition includes more than 80 paintings jointly created and signed by the two artists.
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol OP OP (1984-85) is one of over 80 paintings featured in the exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, NY; © Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/Licensed by ADAGP, Paris 2023. Courtesy Bischofberger Collection, Mannedorf-Zurich
In the fall of 1983, Bischofberger proposed a collaboration between Basquiat, Warhol and the Italian artist Francesco Clemente. “During their collaboration, Basquiat began altering small serigraphs after Warhol encouraged him to do so,” Buchhart explains. “In an interview for our catalog, Jay Shriver, Warhol’s painting assistant since 1980, shared that he was present at the beginning of this collaboration.” Warhol inspired Basquiat to paint over small serigraphs he had made, producing common works incorporating eggs, crabs, lobsters, and dollar signs.
These early works were dated to 1984/85, which is incorrect, says Buchhart. “They were made in late 1983 or early 1984 and are strictly considered modifications and not collaborations, as Basquiat reworked existing works even though Warhol invited him to do so.”
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol Arm and Hammer II (1984-85) © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / License ADAGP, Paris 2023
The exhibition also presents “absolute masterpieces”, says Buchhart, such as Felix the cat (1984-85) and Ten punch bags (Last Supper) (1985-86), which have never been exhibited before in a joint exhibition. On each punching bag, Warhol painted a portrait of Christ from a reproduction by Leonardo da Vinci The last supper. Above these, Basquiat repeatedly wrote the word “judge” and added his iconic crown symbol.
“Today, art historians generally link this work to the aggressive and tragic atmosphere felt by an entire community and beyond during the assassination of graffiti artist Michael Stewart, very close to Basquiat”, writes the co – curator Suzanne Pagé. in the catalog. “This was all happening in the midst of the AIDS crisis.”
Above all, work primordial china (1984) reflects the different worldviews of the two men. Warhol inserted into the chart profiles of then US President Ronald Reagan, who pushed for a free market economy. “Basquiat juxtaposes [the] From Reagan heads to black skulls, which in turn expose the utopia of progress and economic growth from which the African-American population in particular still seemed excluded in the 1980s,” Buchhart explains.
• Basquiat x Warhol: Paintings Four HandsLouis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, April 5-August 28
