Basquiat’s Sisters Take Us Inside The ‘Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure’ Exhibit in Los Angeles

The “Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure” exhibit is coming to Los Angeles following a successful run in NYC, and the sisters of the iconic artist gave BLACK ENTERPRISE an exclusive first look.

Located at the Grand LA, the four-part installation features over 200 never-before and rarely-seen Basquiat paintings, drawings, and artifacts specially selected from the family’s estate. Opening on March 31, his sisters, Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux, served as executive producers and curators of the exhibit that offers a visual of what Jean-Michel’s life was like in New York and the time he spent working in Los Angeles.

Lisane and Jeanine spent years working on the exhibit that became an idea following their father’s passing in 2013.

“My sister and I, our dad passed away in 2013, and we became the executors of his estate, Jean Michel’s estate, and we needed some time to kind of get that straight and realized that we wanted to do something more,” Jeanine told BLACK ENTERPRISE.

After speaking with their stepmother, the sisters came into possession of several works that were being stored in a warehouse.

“‘They need to be seen,'” they recall their stepmother saying. “We agreed with her, but at the same time knew that we had never curated an exhibition before.”

Speeding up to 2020, when the world was in lockdown, and lingering racial tension and social injustice plagued the country, the Basquiat sisters knew it was time to bring the exhibit to life.

“It actually was a domino,” Lasine said. “And it took 20 months to kind of pull this together.”

“The intention was really to not only show works that haven’t been seen, but to give a family perspective of Jean Michel’s life.”

The exhibit includes recreations of Basquiat’s studio on Great Jones Street in New York and the dining and living room of the Basquiat family home in Brooklyn. Other recreations include the Michael Todd VIP Room in the iconic Palladium nightclub from the 1980s, where two massive paintings Basquiat created for his favorite nightclub are on display.

Through the lens of his family and estate, “King Pleasure” highlights Basquiat’s childhood memories, including the time the Haitian-Puerto Rican artist spent in Puerto Rico, his trips to the Ivory Coast, and family videos showing him as a baby and toddler in Brooklyn. It also includes personal portraits the late Andy Warhol made for Basquiat’s mother, father, and sister Jeanine.

“it was important that we were able to executive produce,” Lasine said.

“We were able to say, this is our vision, and that we didn’t need to apologize or explain that. Because, you know, it’s like, this is a house we’re building.”

The sisters also wanted to make sure there was a community component to the exhibit that includes bussing children free of charge to the installation as well as a fashion show in New York City with Black designers who showcased apparel inspired by Basquiat’s work, a film created by young aspiring filmmakers, and family-style dinners inspired by foods the Basquiat family enjoyed as kids.

“It’s not just an exhibition, it’s an experience,” Jeanine said.

In addition to the four-part installation, visitors can get their hands on exclusive Basquiat merch, including hoodies, sweatshirts, sweatpants, bags, and other collectibles, and an in-depth catalog that tells more of Basquiat’s story.