In 1982, Nosei arranged for Basquiat to move to an apartment on Crosby Street, and his first one-man exhibit took place in March of that year at the Nosei gallery. The paintings he exhibited included "Arroz con Pollo," Self-Portrait" and "Peso Neto" and many of his poem-drawings (that recalled the SAMO graffiti) were also displayed. The show received great reviews.
Soon after that show, Basquiat went to Modena, Italy, for a show at the Mazzoli gallery, but left after a couple of weeks, fed up with his treatment by Mazzoli, who set up Basquiat in a warehouse where he felt like a factory laborer. In April of 1982, a show in Los Angeles was organized by Nosei and Larry Gagosian at Gagosian's gallery. The sold out show was a huge commercial and critical success, with paintings like " Red Warrior" and "Tar and Feathers" receiving much comment.
Basquiat's fame was skyrocketing, and in the summer of 1982, he went to the basement of Nosei's gallery and slashed his canvases with razor blades. He then went to new art dealer, Bruno Bischofberger, to handle his work. In October 1982, Bischofberger introduced Basquiat to his lifetime idol, Andy Warhol. Bischofberger organized a show for him at the Fun Gallery in late 1982 that was another huge success.
In the fall of 1982, Basquiat met Madonna, and before long the singer was living with him at his Crosby Street apartment, and after a brief affair, she left, citing his increasing drug problem as her reason for leaving. He went to Los Angeles in December 1982, staying until his next show at Gagosian's gallery in March 1983. Paintings at that show included "Self -Portrait as a Heel, Part 2" and "51-53," the latter a tribute to the dead young daughter of jazz great Charlie Parker that featured her birth and death dates.
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