See How Basquiat’s Travels to the Swiss Alps Influenced His Artistic Development

The artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, known for his subversive graffiti-inspired style, is commonly associated with New York City in the 1980s. Now, a new exhibition reveals a lesser-known source of inspiration for the visionary artist: the Swiss Alps.

Titled “Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin,” the show at the Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz in Switzerland features more than a dozen works that the artist created in St. Moritz, Zurich, Appenzell and various parts of the Alpine valley region of Engadin.

“Sometimes the format of ‘x artist abroad’ can feel a little forced, often curated to artificially engineer new audiences or markets for their work,” writes the Art Newspaper’s Matthew Holman. “But Basquiat’s time in the Engadin is a genuine blindspot in our understanding of one of the most studied artists of the postwar period.”

Basquiat first visited Switzerland in 1982 after meeting Bruno Bischofberger, a Swiss art dealer who became enthralled with the artist and championed his work across Europe. The artist planned the trip to attend the opening for his own solo exhibition at Bischofberger’s gallery. But when he got there, “no opening had been scheduled,” according to Christie’s. Instead, the dealer brought him to Appenzell, a setting that left a lasting impression.

“From then on, Jean-Michel Basquiat often visited me in Switzerland, where he particularly liked it,” says Bischofberger, per the exhibition website. “About half a dozen times in Zurich and exactly seven times in St. Moritz, four of them in the summer.”

One of the most elaborate pieces on display is a nine-panel artwork called Dutch Settlers (1982). The painting combines words and symbols connected to colonialism and slavery with imagery evoking the Engadin, such as mountains, fir trees and ibexes.

Surrounded by the serene snow-capped mountains, Basquiat had a new place to take a beat and channel ideas. “What emerges is a contrast between the pulsating life, nightclubs, street noise and breakneck speed of the metropolis of New York and the artist’s ‘discovery of slowness,’” writes Basquiat scholar Dieter Buchhart, per the gallery.

Basquiat also reimagined pivotal moments in history through the lens of the Swiss Alps. In Big Snow (1984), he uses the Alpine setting to explore Jesse Owens’ 1936 win at the Berlin Olympics. To Repel Ghosts (1986) examines themes of loneliness and spirituality, drawing inspiration from his time in Zurich and St. Moritz. Switzerland was also where Basquiat and Bischofberger began discussing the artist’s collaboration with Andy Warhol and Francesco Clemente.

As Designboom’s Kat Barandy writes, “This collaboration marked a transformative period in his career, underscoring the importance of Switzerland not just as a source of inspiration but as a crucible for artistic innovation.”

“Jean-Michel Basquiat: Engadin” is on view at Hauser & Wirth St. Moritz in Switzerland through March 29, 2025.

Julia Binswanger | READ MORE

Julia Binswanger is a freelance arts and culture reporter based in Chicago. Her work has been featured in WBEZ, Chicago magazine, Rebellious magazine and PC magazine.