Exhibitions: Andy Warhol: The Last Decade

Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Francesco Clemente: Origin of Cotton

Andy Warhol (American, 1928–1987), Jean-Michel Basquiat (American, 1960–1988), and Francesco Clemente (Italian, born 1952). Origin of Cotton, 1984. Mixed media on canvas, 50 ½ x 71 in. (128 x 180.5 cm). Private Collection, Courtesy Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zurich. © 2010 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. © 2010 The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat/ADAGP, Paris/ARS, NY

The Swiss dealer Bruno Bischofberger commissioned a set of collaborations from three leading artists of the 1980s, each from a different generation. To begin, each artist was given a set of canvases, which were then circulated to the others so they could add their contributions. In this painting we see Warhol’s yellow, screenprinted flower in the center overpainted with Clemente’s faces, and finally a layer of Basquiat’s white screened designs, which give the painting its title.