current exhibition
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation
On view October 25, 2024 – February 23, 2025
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation represents the final chapter in the Currier’s ongoing series of “Distant Conversations,” pairing the works by artists who share artistic and intellectual affinities across time and space.
The exhibition brings together six artworks by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988), one of the most celebrated and influential artists of his generation, and seven large canvases by New York–based Ivorian painter Ouattara Watts (b. 1957). The two artists first met in 1988 at the opening of Basquiat’s solo show at Yvon Lambert Gallery in Paris, which was held only seven months prior to his death. Following this first encounter, the two artists quickly established a strong intellectual connection and artistic partnership.
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation imagines how their artistic alliance and mutual influence could have evolved over time and demonstrates how, despite Basquiat’s untimely death, their dialogue and spiritual exchange have effectively continued.
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation is on view from October 26, 2024, through February 23, 2025. This exhibition is generously supported by Jessica O’Rourke McKeon. Additional support by Joseph and Carol Morrow, Bill Stelling and William Siroty, M.D., and Karma (NYC).
Installation view of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation, on view at the Currier through February 23, 2025. Photo by Morgan Karanasios.
Installation view of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation, on view at the Currier through February 23, 2025. Photo by Morgan Karanasios.
Installation view of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation, on view at the Currier through February 23, 2025. Photo by Morgan Karanasios.
Installation view of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation, on view at the Currier through February 23, 2025. Photo by Morgan Karanasios.
upcoming exhibitions
past exhibitions
Archived material on past exhibitions can be explored further here, and recent past exhibition catalogues are available through the museum shop.
artist in residence
Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program invites artists to live and work at the museum. While in residence, artists consider the collection and community, and refresh our perspectives on the role of the museum. The program is central to the Currier Museum’s mission of connecting our audiences with art and creative thinking, whether of the past or the future. We hope to learn from our visiting artists – and be surprised by their perspectives.
Artists working in all media participate in the AIR program, which has three main components: 1) an open call to support emerging artists making socially engaged art; 2) an invitational through which artists are selected to develop special projects, commissions, or exhibitions; and 3) artist-led, community-centered public art projects in the city of Nashua, NH.
Open Call for Artist in Residence Applications
Our annual open call is currently live from October 1 – December 1, 2022. Artists who share the museum’s goal of positively impacting communities through the transformative power of art are encouraged to apply to this residency.