Exploring various artistic motifs that combine the natural and cultural landscape of the Engadin with the metropolis of New York, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s first solo exhibition dedicated to the paintings he created in and inspired by his visits to Switzerland is on view at our St. Moritz gallery.
‘Jean-Michel Basquiat. Engadin’ at Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich
‘Jean-Michel Basquiat. Engadin’ traces the renowned artist’s connections to the country, which began in 1982 with his first show at Galerie Bruno Bischofberger in Zurich, returning over a dozen times to St. Moritz, Zurich, and Appenzell, as well as other places in Switzerland. The Engadin region in particular continued to fascinate Basquiat long after his return to New York, resulting 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.
Bruno Bischofberger and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bruno Bischofberger Gallery, Zurich, 1982 © Bruno Bischofberger Gallery, Männedorf-Zurich, Switzerland © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Beth Phillips
After his first exhibition with Galerie Bruno Bischofberger in 1982, the same year Basquiat became one of the youngest ever artists to participate at Documenta in Kassel, the influences of the disparate cultural landscapes of New York City and Switzerland began to take shape in his work, incorporating the motifs of ski lifts, fir trees, mountains and German phrases into his expansive visual lexicon. ‘From then on, Jean-Michel Basquiat often visited me in Switzerland, where he particularly liked it. About half a dozen times in Zurich and exactly seven times in St. Moritz, four of them in the summer,’ says Bischofberger.
‘Jean-Michel Basquiat. Engadin’ at Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich
One of the earliest works on view in the exhibition is the monumental painting ‘The Dutch Settlers’ from 1982. Composed of nine canvases, the painting is a prime example of Basquiat’s innovative approach of marrying William S. Burroughs’ ‘cut-up’ technique with a method akin to sampling technology used in hip hop. The montage of nine canvas panels enabled Basquiat to assemble, combine and recombine different image fields—creating a multi-layered work that emanates a visual rhythm described as an ‘Eye Rap’ by art historian Robert Storr. The artist paints powerful motifs which reference the African Diaspora and slavery (evoked through words such NUBIA and TOBACCO) alongside images of the Engadin, depicting fir trees, a mountain road, as well as an ibex, the heraldic animal of the canton of Graubünden and native to the region.
‘What emerges is a contrast between the pulsating life, nightclubs, street noise, and breakneck speed of the metropolis of New York and the artist’s ‘discovery of slowness.’’—Dieter Buchhart
Skifahrer (Skier) (detail), 1983 Courtesy Collection Carmignac © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Thomas Hennocque
This mountain iconography can also be seen in the playful works ‘Skifahrer (Skier)’ and ‘See (Lake)’ on view in the exhibition. The former depicts a comic-like figure on a bright red background and the latter the local landscape at night, both painted in St. Moritz a year later. These works were part of a series that Basquiat made for a dinner with collectors in Bischofberger’s ‘hunting lodge’ as the artist called it, meaning the family’s home in St. Moritz. Beside photographs of the Engadin by Albert Steiner, there was no modern art hanging in the dining room that season.
See (Lake), 1983
Courtesy Private Collection © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York
‘Jean-Michel Basquiat. Engadin’ at Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich
In the winter of 1983/1984, during one of Basquiat’s visits to the Engadin, Bischofberger and the artist began discussing the idea for a collaboration between Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Francesco Clemente. The three artists each created four paintings and a drawing, which were subsequently transported between them to complete. ‘In Bianco’ (1983) showcases the clearly distinguishable artistic contributions from all three, demonstrating how each artist reacted respectfully to the parameters of the others. As Buchhart notes, ‘the cornerstone for this important collaboration was laid in St. Moritz’, marking a turning point in Basquiat's artistic practice and proving Switzerland to be of great historical significance for the artist in more ways than one.
‘Jean-Michel Basquiat. Engadin’ at Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich
Integrating the immediate world around him with his varied encyclopaedic knowledge, ‘Big Snow’ (1984) sees Basquiat once again processing his impressions of the Engadin in conjunction with themes relating to race and Black history, combining motifs of the Swiss mountains, snow and skiing with the Berlin Olympic Games of 1936 and Jesse Owens’ win of four gold medals.
The latest body of work on view includes a group of monochrome paintings titled ‘To Repel Ghosts’ which Basquiat created in 1986 during his time in Zurich and St. Moritz, exploring themes of emptiness as well as spirituality in relation to the African Diaspora. Musing on what kept drawing the artist back to Switzerland, Buchhart writes, ‘For Basquiat, the Engadin meant work, inspiration, friendship, and rest and relaxation, all at the same time.’
Big Snow, 1984
Courtesy Private Collection © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York
To Repel Ghosts, 1986
Courtesy Nicola Erni Collection © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York
From Hauser & Wirth Publishers
Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin
With forewords by Bruno Bischofberger and Iwan Wirth and an essay by curator Dr. Dr. Dieter Buchhart, this new publication documents a unique body of work that captures Jean-Michel Basquiat’s impressions of the Swiss Alpine landscape and culture through the lens of his iconic visual language.
Current Exhibitions
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