The Muse - Nina Clemente

Nina Clemente

At the beginning of the summer I had the pleasure of meeting a young woman that would change my life and forever effect the way I felt about the word – MUSE… Her name is Nina Clemente…

Little Nina

To be quite honest, I actually met Nina almost 20 years ago when I was just a snotty nosed punk running around New York City and she was a six year old precocious little girl. You see Nina Clemente happens to be the daughter of the world famous artist Francesco Clemente and I happened to be a close friend of the late pop artist, Keith Haring (that is why a lot of times you will see me rocking a Keith Haring shirt, sweatshirt, jacket or cap in memory of my lost friend).

Artist - Keith Haring

In the late 80s I had the pleasure and honor of being a part of Keith Haring’s colorful and wild posse. In hindsight, technically we were a gay street gang that went under the alias “The House of Xtravaganza”. We were known for being an extravagantly fabulous family of dysfunctional and lost kids... But we made our way through the best way we knew how - with love and laughter to hide the pain of the introduction of HIV/AIDS to the gay community.

Keith creating one of his masterpieces

I still have fond, if not fragmented, memories of Keith dragging our little posse all around New York City; one day we would be hanging out in a rundown artist’s loft on the Lower East Side and the next we would be having dinner at a swank pad on the Upper East Side.

Well, one bright sunny day Keith announced that we were all going to visit his dear friends the Clementes. I could tell by the response that everyone else had already had the pleasure of meeting the Clementes, but between a part-time job at Pat Field’s and a full-time school schedule, I had not yet received the honor… So off we went to visit the Clemente Clan… All I can remember of the encounter was the piercing eyes of Francesco Clemente, the sculptural presence of his wife Alba, the well mannered behavior of their daughter Chiara, and the precociousness and liveliness of a little girl that I assumed had eaten a breakfast of Mexican jumping beans named Nina. This meeting took place sometime during the spring/summer of 1988… I know this to be correct as we would only spend one more sunny summer with Keith before he died during the winter of 1990 due to complications of AIDS… Some things you never forget… In the “Keith Haring Journals” eventually published in November 1996, Keith wrote the following:

“I think riding on the front of this boat (lying down with Nina's [Nina Clemente's] head on my arm), with warm water splashing my hand, the cool ocean breeze and the landscape of the cliffs of Amalfi lit up like an opera set, was one of the most incredible moments of my life. This is why I want to be alive, for the moments like this."

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Madonna performs at the Paradise Garage in a Keith Haring Painted Suit

Now fast forward to the summer of 2007… During a meeting with my dear friend and Deitch Project gallery Director, Nicola Vassel, I was invited to an exhibition that she had organized of Francesco Clemente’s earlier work. Of course, I was instantly transported back to 1988 and confronted by memories of Keith… At first I hesitated with accepting the invitation, but for some reason I knew that I had to attend.

The Clemente Clan

As I walked into the gallery on the opening night I was immediately once again greeted by Francesco’s piercing eyes, Alba’s sculptural perfection, Chiara’s innate grace, the elegance of two family additions in the form of giant twin boys, and last but not least, the vitality, swagger and charisma of the vixen named Nina…

Vito Schnabel and Nina Clemente

It was love at first sight… Soon thereafter, Nina and I became inseparable… Long story short, Nina and I proceeded to have a platonic summer fling filled with creativity, spirituality and philosophy. We have danced the nights away, giggled and laughed in the afternoon, and lifted each other spirits and souls with early morning wake-up calls. The love that I have for this young woman is preordained.

Nina and I make the Scene

Nina has recently decided to become bi-coastal and therefore last week she packed up the majority of her life and moved to Los Angeles. However, before she left she gave me a copy of a book that Keith Haring had illustrated for her as a gift (Nina’s Book of Little Things published by Prestel)… When I got home and finally opened the book to the inside flap I immediately noticed the printed inscription which read “For Nina on her 7th Birthday - July 15, 1988” - - - I was completely overcome by emotion and proceed to weep until I fell asleep. As I slept and dreamed of the summer of 1988, I could feel a presence and immediately knew that Keith was still with us both; painting and sculpting our beautiful future...

Nina's Book of Little Things

Nina has never really known this entire story until now…

In honor of my muse and friend - Nina Clemente, I present to you Mal Sirrah’s featured dress “The Nina”…

Mal Sirrah Spring/Summer 2007
Illustration by Taylor Ann Westfall