Book: Widow Basquiat

A major exhibition of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat is coming to London later this year (at the Barbican), and I thought I ought to learn more about this artist, because frankly I knew very little beyond the Andy Warhol association and tragic death.

In a bookstore, my eyes stopped on this memoir and, reading its jacket, I thought, who best to learn about Basquiat than from his muse (and on-and-off girlfriend), Suzanne Mallouk? The book is a mix of Suzanne's stories (told by herself), and writer Jennifer Clements's poetic prose, and is an incredible insight into the life of Basquiat, into the club scene and art world of 1980s NYC, and into his paintings.

The below are highlights, written in Jennifer Clements's style. This is a great book - art history, really, told beautifully.