A new exhibition at London’s St Martin’s Lane Front Room, shows rare photographs of artist Jean Michel Basquiat riding the 80’s downtown New York club scene, taken by GRAY bandmate Nicholas Taylor. The exhibition also features never-before-seen black and white images of the couple playing together in the infamous experimental band GREY, whose legendary Mudd Club residency brought them praise from Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine, who called them “possibly the best band on the planet”.

Taylor first met fellow artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in January 1979, at the famed Mudd Club in lower Manhattan. The two quickly became close friends and together with Michael Holman, Wayne Clifford and a 16-year-old go-go dancer by the name of Vince Gallo (yes, Gallo of Brown Bunny fame), formed the art band GRAY.

GRAY’s sound was experimental, an energizing mix of ambient sounds and industrial instrumentation. Despite being odd, the 80’s downtown New York scene loved it. Their fan base was littered with pop-stars and famous artists, it wouldn’t be unusual to see celebrities and singers queuing outside the Mudd Club for a glimpse of their live sets. GRAY played at a myriad of locations throughout New York city, including a birthday party for pop-art guru Leo Castelli. But the group famously broke up in 1981. Vincent Gallo left to become Vincent Gallo, Basquiat dated Madonna, hung out with Andy Warhol, commanded thousands of dollars for the most minimal of prints, and subsequently died of drug abuse. Little of GRAY ever remained and virtually no recordings had been made.

More than 30 years after his death at the age of 27, New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s dramatic performances in GRAY are documented by bandmate Taylor. The rare photographs of Basquiat performing with the band are a reminder of the excitement and energy of New York in the 80’s. The exhibition gives you an impression of what downtown must have felt like during the peak of New Wave. You can almost taste the energy.

Jean Michel Basquiat through Nicholas Taylor runs from October 5 to November 1 at Front Room, St Martin’s Lane.




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