Required Reading: Widow Basquiat

Last week I did the largest book haul I've done in months. Safe to say, I spent a bit more that I should have but now I have reading material for at least the next two months to come.

Strand bookstore in New York is definitely one of my go to places to find cheap books and art books in general, their Union Square location has a whole floor dedicated to art books! How can I resist?

In my stack I included the book I'm reviewing now, which I read in two days... oops. Jennifer Clement is the author of Widow Basquiat, a compelling biography about Suzanne Mallouk, one of Jean-Michel Basquiat's girlfriends.

The biography develops in small two-page chapters of scenes from Suzanne's and the couple's life. The author has used both short and straight to the point sentences that will help you picture Jean and Suzanne's life as if it were a movie. Each chapter is accompanied by Suzanne's own telling of each anecdote, her memories of drug addiction, the New York art scene of the 80s and her life as Basquiat's muse.

This book is poetic and moving. It helps its readers understand the artist as a product of all his context, of his inner suffering and the experiences he gave others, like Suzanne. This book will make you fall in love, and even though their relationship was tumultuous (as any artist's relationship can be), Suzanne's reflections on her life with Basquiat are raw and honest, they're romantic and pure.

You can see some of the works that are explained in the book through the gallery below:

St. Joe Louis Surrounded Snake

Self-portrait

Dos Cabezas

Native Carrying Some Guns

Bombero

Earth

Refrigerator with Basquiat's drawing

#basquiat #art #arthistory #books #requiredreading