Art merchant and collector Bruno Bischofberger first invited them to work together - in one year, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat created 160 canvases with their four hands. Keith Haring, who saw them at work, spoke of “a conversation which happened through painting rather than through words” and of two minds which melded together to create “a distinct and unique third mind”. The solidariety between the two artists returns to the fore at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in the largest and most complete exhibition ever dedicated to this story. Among the 80 canvases co-signed by the couple of Warhol-Basquiat, there are the portraits with which they immortalised one another, the paintings created with Francesco Clemente, celebrated works like the monumental sculpture Ten Punching Bags (Last Supper) or the African Mask on an eight-metre canvas. Then, there are the works of Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, Kenny Scharf and Michael Halsband, chosen to evoke the vibrant atmosphere of New York in the Eighties. “Andy would start one [a painting] putting something recognisable on it, a logo of a product, and I would vandalise it,” said Basquiat in describing their work together. For him, Warhol was a master, a pioneer, an icon. “I would draw it first and then I would paint it like Jean-Michel. I think the paintings we’re doing together are better when you can’t say who did which part,” said Warhol who, only thanks to his young friend, returned to paint by hand on large canvases.
