«I LIKE EVERYBODY'S ART»

Also in 1982, Bischofberger took Basquiat to meet Andy Warhol in his studio. Basquiat asked his dealer to take a Polaroid picture of him together with Warhol. Two hours later, he returned to Warhol’s studio bearing a still-wet oil painting: his interpretation of the double portrait. Said an impressed Warhol, "He works faster than I do!" The two would go on to form one of the most famous (and financially rewarding) partnerships in contemporary art, collaborating on paintings that filled two exhibitions — a relationship that Basquiat would soon end, however, due to some initial negative reviews. Eight years, 1,000 canvases and 2,000 drawings after his first exhibition, Jean Michel Basquiat died in his loft of an overdose. He was twenty-seven years old. Death rounded out the myth: the young, presumed genius, hyped and idolized but apparently always misunderstood, was dead before he could truly prove his talent.

-Culturekiosque
August 28 2010