 During the early 1980s, Basquiat made his breakthrough as a solo artist.In June 1980, Basquiat participated in "The Times Square Show", a multi-artist exhibition sponsored by Collaborative Projects Incorporated (Colab) and Fashion Moda where he was noticed by various critics and curators.In particular Emilio Mazzoli, an Italian gallerist, saw the exhibition and invited Basquiat to Modena (Italy) to have his world first solo show, that opened on May 23, 1981.