Basquiat's Modena paintings reunited for the first time at Fondation Beyeler

by Redazione , published on 04/05/2023
Categories: Exhibitions / Disclaimer
In 1981 Basquiat was exhibited for the first time in Europe in Modena, Italy, at the Mazzoli Gallery, and in 1982 he created some large paintings for a second exhibition that did not take place, however. Forty years later, the Fondaion Beyeler in Basel is bringing together for the first time that group of works never exhibited together.

Not everyone knows that the first European exhibition of Jean Michel-Basquiat (New York, 1960 - 1988) was held in Italy and to be precise in Modena, at Galleria Mazzoli, a sign that our country has always been, even in recent times, at the center of great international art. It was in May 1981 when Emilio Mazzoli took Basquiat outside the United States for the first time: at the time, Basquiat still signed his name with the pseudonym SAMO, and the exhibition would not meet with great success, because graffiti art was a language still little understood outside New York.

Mazzoli however invited Basquiat again for another exhibition to be held in 1982: during the summer he was hosted in a studio in Modena where the American artist began working, painting a group of large-scale works. The project was canceled before the exhibition opened, however, and the paintings were never shown together. Until now: the Fondation Beyeler in Basel has in fact brought together what has gone down in history as the “Modena Paintings” and, forty years later, is showing them for the first time in an exhibition entitled Basquiat. The Modena Paintings, scheduled from June 11 to August 27, 2023 at the Swiss museum’s headquarters.

It consists of eight works held in as many private collections in the U.S., Asia, and Switzerland.Among these paintings are important works in the artist’s career such as The Guilt of Gold Teeth, Untitled , and Profit , which moreover also set exceptional prices at auction. Basquiat’s career would last only six more years, until his untimely death from a drug overdose at only 27 years old on August 12, 1988.

For all information you can visit the Fondation Beyeler website.

Basquiat's Modena paintings reunited for the first time at Fondation Beyeler
Basquiat's Modena paintings reunited for the first time at Fondation Beyeler


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