In the photo: A series of paintings created by Basquiat during his stay in Italy, which he hated, were brought together in Switzerland at the Beyeler Foundation.

Although Jean-Michel Basquiat is mainly associated with the underground scene of1980s New York, he often traveled to Asia and Europe.

During one of his trips to Modena, Italy, in1982, he created a group of eight new paintings for an exhibition with dealer Emilio Mazzoli, which never took place.

Over time, these works made their own journey around the world. Just over40 years later, they were first brought together for a new exhibition at the Beyeler Foundation in the Swiss town of Riehen, near Basel.

Typically expressive works each have dimensions of no less than six and a half by13 feet and are often focused on a solitary figure, which, in some cases, is accompanied by a cow or a dog. The absence of the common metropolis motifs that Basquiat usually used seems to reflect his new, more provincial location.

Some compositions were sprayed onto old canvases discarded by the artist Mario Schifano, and all of them are easily recognizable thanks to the inscription "Modena" on the reverse side. Thus, they can be considered as a single creative entity.

In1982, Basquiat was only21 years old, but his star was rapidly rising, and in June he became the youngest artist to exhibit at Documenta7 in Kassel.

However, looking at the arrangement a few years later, Basquiat compared it to "a sick factory. I didn't like it. I wanted to be a star, not a gallery mascot." He was no doubt relieved when Mazzoli canceled the exhibition because of the controversy.

Annina Nozey, Basquiat's New York gallerist, eventually sold the paintings, some of which became his best-known and most highly prized.

The exhibition "Basquiat: Pictures from Modena" will run through August 27.

A preview of works from the exhibition below.