Basquiat’s adventure in Portugal (from Hotel do Guincho to the Algarve bas-fond)
Çwhite shirt, striped tie, shining gaze into infinity: it is an apparent portrait, a portrait of the artist as a young man. It’s a photograph without any kind of either, except the cluttered glasses and water bottles on the table… and the caption: “Jean-Michel Basquiat, Breakfast Set #1, July 1985, Lisbon, Portugal”. Basquiat, the star of the New York art scene of the 1980s, the one who is considered the greatest black painter in history, the neo-expressionist who brought urban poetry, systemic racism and social commentary to some of the hottest galleries in the world, in peak of his career, having a quiet breakfast in Lisbon?
The episode does not appear in documentaries, biographical films or books about the American artist. nor the place sells the image, the unsuspecting Artsy, nor the rest of the internet we seek any answers to the questions that in a rush. Not photography and it would be as if the incursion were not possible. But the shape of the glass bottle is familiar. Window doors too. And it may be pure suggestion, but even the light looks very Portuguese. In fact, there’s one more clue, because the author’s name appears at the top, and it’s not just any photographer — rather the man who that same year created the now-historical image of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, both wearing black gloves. boxing Everlast, announcing an exhibition of joint works that would dictate, after less than two months, the end of their friendship.
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