"Opening Saturday, May 16, Our Friend, Jean at The Bishop Gallery is an intimate collection of art and ephemera from the precipice of Jean-Michel Basquiat's career explosion."
"A majority of the exhibition came from the archive of Alexis Adler, Basquiat's former roommate, friend, and intimate partner from 1979-80, while other objects came from the likes of Jane Diaz, Katie Taylor, and Hilary Jaeger - all of whom were close with the artist at various points in his short life."
"When Basquiat and Adler lived together in the East 12th Street apartment that Adler still resides in, the artist was using anything and everything as a surface for his work, including the apartment itself. He would also buy and paint on sweatshirts or postcards, sell them on the street, and use the money to rinse and repeat."
"Adler was left with many of Basquiat's early pieces, a few original sweatshirts, and writings from this late-teenage era, as well as dozens of photographs she took of the artist and his work in the apartment."
An intimate exhibition titled “Our Friend, Jean” opens at The Bishop Gallery in Brooklyn. The show gathers art and ephemera from the period just before Jean-Michel Basquiat’s career explosion. Most objects come from the archive of Alexis Adler, Basquiat’s former roommate, friend, and intimate partner from 1979 to 1980. Additional items come from people close to Basquiat, including Jane Diaz, Katie Taylor, and Hilary Jaeger. Basquiat used the East 12th Street apartment as a working space and treated many everyday items as surfaces. He painted on sweatshirts and postcards, sold them on the street, and reinvested the proceeds to repeat the process. Adler retained early pieces, original sweatshirts, writings, and photographs documenting the work and apartment life.
Read at Hyperallergic
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