Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Former Studio, Now Home to Angelina Jolie’s Fashion Label, Has Inexplicably Been Coated in Pink Paint

Painting the town pink? Regulars strolling around the Bowery in New York won’t have failed to notice a layer of pink paint has been rolled all over the former studio of Jean-Michel Basquiat at 57 Great Jones Street. Even a memorial plaque dedicated to the iconic artist was targeted, according to the East Village news blog EV Grieve.

Basquiat leased the property from his friend Andy Warhol from 1983 until his death in 1988.

The space is currently being rented by the Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie, who plans to use the three-story building as the headquarters of Atelier Jolie, her new fashion label. “A privilege to be in this space,” she wrote on Instagram. “We will do our best to respect and honor its artist legacy with community and creativity.”

In keeping with this sentiment, Jolie made a point of not wanting to change the building’s exterior, which was covered in graffiti that paid tribute to the legacy of Basquiat, who began his career making street art. In July, artist Adrian Wilson added a massive crown, one of Basquiat’s signatures, to its facade and apparently cleaned its plaque.

Jolie’s new atelier will be used to showcase work by tailors, artisans, and other creatives, as well as a workshop with free materials and facilities. “We hope to create a community of creativity and inspiration, regardless of socio-economic background,” she pledged. “We will bring together a diverse team, including apprenticeships for refugees and other talented, underappreciated groups, with positions of dignity based on skill.”

Legend has it that the building, which has been around since the 1860s, was once the headquarters of gangster Paul Kelly. More recently, it was home to an invite-only Japanese restaurant called Bohemian. It was made available to new occupants for $60,000 per month by Meridian Capital Group last November, described as an “open loft space with high ceilings and multiple skylights.”

 

More Trending Stories:  

U.K. Authorities Are Ready to Charge Seven Suspects Over the 2019 Theft of Maurizio Cattelan’s Gold Toilet Sculpture 

China Joins a Growing Number of Nations Demanding the British Museum Restitute Artifacts From Its Collection in the Wake of Widespread Thefts 

Banksy’s Blockbuster Show in Glasgow Attracted Record Crowds—and the Artist Wants You to Decide Where It Should Travel Next 

Here’s How Much Money U.S. Museum Directors Make—But a Growing Backlash Could Soon Change That 

For the Right Price, Guests at a Luxury Retreat in Egypt Can Help Archaeologists Dig for Cleopatra’s Long-Lost Tomb 

An 1837 Portrait of an Enslaved Child, Obscured by Overpainting for a Century, Has Been Restored and Acquired by the Met 

New Court Filings Show the Magnitude of Claims Being Made Against Disgraced Art Advisor Lisa Schiff 

Outgoing British Museum Director Hartwig Fischer Speaks Out for the First Time About the Thefts That Took Place Under His Watch