Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'MP' Visits His Eponymous Portrait After 35 Years | Christie's

Alive with the charisma of both artist and sitter, 'MP' depicts Michael Patterson, a friend from the vibrant nightlife scene of 1980s New York. The two were regulars at Area, a short-lived Tribeca club infamous for its themed parties and extravagant, theatrical sets. . Basquiat deejayed and sometimes even painted there; his then-girlfriend Jennifer Goode, whose brothers Eric and Chris co-owned the club, was one of its art directors. . 'The silver bar is where worlds collide', wrote Jesse Kornbluth in a 1985 profile. 'Andy Warhol might be brushing up against Malcolm Forbes, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat against David Byrne or Giorgio Armani, Scavullo and Joan Rivers against Phoebe Cates or Henry Geldzahler. And if no one’s mixing, Stephen Saban, the Boswell of the night, will push them together, later to remind them what happened in his column in Details’. . Patterson recalls that he didn’t take Basquiat seriously when he first asked him to sit for a portrait. He saw Basquiat again at Area two weeks later, and the artist asked why he hadn’t showed up. Patterson travelled from his Long Island home to Basquiat’s studio on Great Jones Street for his first sitting, and entered the pantheon of art history. . Here we journey with Patterson on his first visit with Basquait's 'MP' after 35 years. -- Subscribe to Christie's YouTube: http://goo.gl/Vmh7Hf Sign up to Christie's Weekly: https://goo.gl/kc8qpV Follow Christie's on: Facebook: https://ift.tt/2elC9Zg Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristiesInc Instagram: https://ift.tt/2iJ3lGm Pinterest: https://ift.tt/2elCafM