Basquiat: The Modena Paintings

Published by Hatje Cantz, this book documents the exhibition Basquiat: The Modena Paintings at Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel. In the summer of 1982, Jean-Michel Basquiat traveled to Modena, Italy, at the invitation of gallery owner Emilio Mazzoli to produce new works for a solo exhibition. He made eight large-format paintings, some of which are now among his most renowned works; however, the planned exhibition ultimately did not occur. The works were never shown together until the Beyeler exhibition, some forty years after they were made. In addition to reproductions of the exhibited works, the catalogue features a foreword by book editors Sam Keller and Iris Hasler; essays by Hasler and Demetrio Paparoni; texts on each of the works by Dieter Buchhart, Fiona Hesse, Michiko Kono, Regula Moser, and Jordana Moore Saggese; and a chronology compiled by Hasler.