OUR FRIEND, JEAN

HBCU Exhibition Tour

The Bishop Gallery has curated a 6-Stop HBCU Exhibition Tour showcasing 20+ artworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Each artwork is on loan from Friends, Lovers, and former Collaborators of the renowned artist.Arriving on HBCU campuses for the first time ever, this tour aims to give the next generation of Black Artists and Creatives unprecedented access to America’s most influential artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat.

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“Our Friend, Jean” is a sampling of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s earliest works on loan from several collectors who knew him intimately, as friends, collaborators, and lovers. Featuring 20 plus artworks including drawings, writings, apparel, mixed media collages, and ephemera. The group of collectors consists of Jane Diaz, Hilary Jaeger, Katie Taylor, Lucy Sante, Al Diaz, and photographer Alexis Adler who also served as a co-curator with Erwin John and Stevenson Dunn, Jr.. Through this exhibition each collector shares uniquely intimate stories of their friend Jean.

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The exhibition lends a voice to the unsung collectors of the world, those who offer an artist critical early support out of genuine friendship. It is precisely this type of support that can spring board an artist’s career to unimaginable heights. This was certainly the case for Jean-Michel Basquiat. An original Basquiat work can fetch tens of millions of dollars; one recently set a Christie’s auction record at $110 million when it was sold to the Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. Many of these high-priced works are owned by collectors like Maezawa who have never met Basquiat and even the collectors who have met him in person couldn’t claim to have had a friendship with him. Friendship is what distinguishes the group of collectors who are lending their works to the “Our Friend, Jean” exhibition.

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Exhibition Events

Monday - Special Opening Hours |10am to 5pm

Tuesday - Exhibition Open 10am to 3pm | 3p to 5pm | Music & Curator Talk

Wednesday - Exhibition Open 10am to 5pm | 3pm to 5pm | Music & Curator Talk

Thursday - Exhibition Open 10am Early Closing 2pm |

Friday - Links Day | Exhibition Open 10am to 5pm | 3pm to 5pm Curator Chat & Closing Reception

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