Ouattara and Jean-Michel Basquiat

The relationship between Ouattara and Basquiat is more than coincidental. In 1986, when Ouattara was mounting his first exhibition in Paris, Basquiat was having a debut exhibition in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. While in Côte d'Ivoire, Basquiat went to study African spiritualism in Ouattara's home village of Korogo.

In 1988, Ouattara saw Basquiat's work while it was on exhibit in Paris and met the artist at the opening reception. Ouattara immediately saw cultural connections between Basquiat's work and his own, and the coincidence of Basquiat's experience in Korogo gave their friendship more common ground. Basquiat was impressed with Ouattara's work and purchased several pieces, which he used to help Ouattara land a one-man show in New York in 1989. After the show Ouattara made New York his home.

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