Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin

Inside Basquiat’s Swiss-inspired works and his many productive, collaborative trips to the Engadin region

Inextricably associated with New York City, Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–88) nonetheless had several creative connections to cities across the world. Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin traces the renowned artist’s relationship with Switzerland, which began in 1982 after his first exhibition with Bruno Bischofberger Gallery in Zurich. Bischofberger would go on to introduce Basquiat to Francesco Clemente, who would form part of a creative triumvirate with Basquiat and Andy Warhol before the latter two became an inseparable duo. The artist went on to visit the country numerous times, frequently returning to St. Moritz and the Engadin region. Basquiat’s travels resulted in a body of work that captures his impressions of the Swiss Alpine landscape and culture through the lens of his highly distinctive and personal artistic language, complete with stick figure skiers, traditional Swiss dishes and scrawled German phrases.