Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin

Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin
14th December, 2024 – 29th March, 2025
Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz
Via Serlas 22
7500 St. Moritz

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 opens on 14 December at Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz.

‘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. He returned over a dozen times to St. Moritz, Zurich, Appenzell, and Basel. 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 distinctive and personal artistic language.

‘Jean-Michel Basquiat. Engadin’ will be accompanied by a catalog from Hauser & Wirth Publishers, featuring a foreword by Bruno Bischofberger and a text by Dr. Dieter Buchhart to give visitors a unique insight into this specific chapter of one of the most important artists of the 20th Century. The exhibition is supported by Dr. Dieter Buchhart and Dr. Anna Karina Hofbauer, internationally renowned curators and Basquiat experts.

About Jean-Michel Basquiat

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1960 and coming of age in the downtown, post-punk artistic scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Basquiat drew on the diversity and intensity of New York City within his multi-disciplinary practice. His expressive paintings combined bold text and imagery from his expansive references across art, film, history, and music, as well as his experiences of everyday racism as a young Black man in the US.

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. These influences incorporated the motifs of ski lifts, fir trees, mountains, and German phrases into his expansive visual lexicon.

Basquiat‘s Connection to Switzerland

‘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. Basquiat was captivated by the Engadin’s vast natural landscape, cultural history, and the hospitality of the Bischofberger family.

As Dr. Dieter Buchhart writes, ‘the contrast between the pulsating life, the clubs, the street noise, and the breakneck speed of the metropolis New York and the “discovery of slowness” in the unique, overwhelming landscape of the Engadin’ was deeply inspiring to Basquiat.

Key Works in the Exhibition

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 exemplifies 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 referencing the African Diaspora and slavery (evoked through words like NUBIA and TOBACCO) alongside images of the Engadin, depicting fir trees, a mountain road, and an ibex, the heraldic animal of the canton of Graubünden. This mountain iconography can also be seen in the playful works ‘Skifahrer (Skier)’ and ‘See (Lake)’, painted in St. Moritz in 1983. These works were part of a series Basquiat intended for a hunting lodge and were later displayed in the Bischofberger family’s St. Moritz dining room.

Collaborations in Switzerland

In the winter of 1983/1984, during one of Basquiat’s visits to the Engadin, Bischofberger and the artist began discussing a collaboration between Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Francesco Clemente. The three artists each created four paintings and a drawing, which were transported between them to complete. ‘In Bianco’ (1983) demonstrates the distinct artistic contributions of all three, reflecting their mutual respect and synergy. As Buchhart notes, ‘the cornerstone for this important collaboration was laid in St. Moritz,’ marking a turning point in Basquiat’s artistic practice.

Engadin in Basquiat’s Art

Basquiat continued integrating the immediate world around him with his encyclopedic knowledge. ‘Big Snow’ (1984) captures his impressions of the Engadin while exploring themes of race and Black history. It combines motifs of Swiss mountains, snow, and skiing with references to the Berlin Olympic Games of 1936 and Jesse Owens’ four gold medal victories.

In 1985, Basquiat participated in a group show at the Segantini Museum in St. Moritz, showcasing his work ‘See (Lake)’ in the exhibition ‘The Engadine in Painting’.

The latest body of work on view includes a series of monochrome paintings titled ‘To Repel Ghosts’, created in 1986 during his time in Zurich and St. Moritz. These works explore themes of emptiness and spirituality in relation to the African Diaspora.

A Place of Inspiration

Reflecting on what drew Basquiat to Switzerland, Buchhart writes: ‘For Basquiat, the Engadin meant work, inspiration, friendship, and rest and relaxation, all at the same time.’ The region served as a profound source of creativity, allowing the artist to bridge his vibrant New York identity with the serene Alpine environment.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin opens on the 14th of December, 2024 until the 29th of March, 2025 at Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz

Learn more

©2024 Hauser & Wirth