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Riding
With Death
Jean-Michel
is now famous and making thousands of dollars but it is painfully
apparent that he is unable to handle his success. His drug use is
out of control and friends are becoming more and more concerned
about his physical and mental health. He is often in a state of
paranoia and extremely overly concerned with his appearance. He
is sometimes destroying his work for the threat of people stealing
it from his apartment. This adds to the paranoia and Jean-Michel
frequently complains of feeling alone, betrayed and scared. He nevertheless
appears on the cover of The New York Times Magazine for the article
"New Art, New Money: The Marketing of American Artist." Basquait
is now 24 years old.
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In
May of 1985 he is commissioned by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager the
famous Studio 54 founders to do
art installations for a new club, The Palladium. He is to join Francesco
Clemente, Keith Haring, and Kenny
Scharf in the project. In September sixteen collaborative paintings
by Basquait and Warhol are shown at the
Tony Shafrazi Gallery. The show receives unfavorable reviews and
causes tension between Andy and Jean-Michel. Their friendship weakens
and begins to suffer with Jean-Michel turning his back to Andy. |
Untitled
1984 (Collaboration with Andy Warhol)
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again Basquait's health is of great concern. Deteriation of his body
becomes more noticeable. He has developed dark spots on his face possibly
caused by the removal of his spleen when he was a child. His body
is unable to clear the toxins from the drugs out of his blood. By
the end of 1986 Basquait's two year relationship with dealer Mary
Boone is destroyed and he is once again without a New York dealer.
He is still represented by Bruno Bishofberger who tries to find him
another dealer in New York. On February 22, 1987 Basquait receives
the news that his friend Andy Warhol has died. Even though their relationship
had deteriorated over the past year Jean-Michel is completely devastated.
His loss plunges him into a deep depression. |
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more than a year and a half Basquiat has no exhibitions. Finally,
in 1988 Basquait has a show at Baghoomian's gallery. He travels to
Paris for a one-artist show and then returns to New York for another
show at Baghoomian's gallery. His work is praised by some art critics
which is like a redemption from the negative criticism he had been
receiving previously. Vrej Baghoomian becomes Jean-Michel's last dealer.
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Basquait
begins listening to friends concerning his drug use. Even though
he has always been resistant to drug treatment programs, he makes
an effort to stop using. He leaves for Hawaii one of the places
he would frequently travel to throughout his career. He stays on
a ranch in an attempt to clean himself out. At the end of June Basquait
returns to New York claiming that he is clean . On Friday August
17, 1988 Jean-Michel dies in his loft from a drug overdose. Like
Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix two of his idols, he dies at age 27.
He is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
Gravestone,
1987
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