Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was a highly influential artist in the 1980s who rose to fame as a key figure in the post-modern art movement known as Neo-expressionism.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1960, and began his career as a graffiti artist in the 1970s before transitioning to the gallery scene in the 1980s.
Basquiat's work was characterized by its raw energy, bold lines, and expressive use of language and symbols.
He often used his paintings to comment on social and political issues, particularly those relating to race and inequality.
His work was highly sought after by collectors, and he gained a reputation as one of the most important artists of his generation.
Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol were two prominent figures in the 1980s art scene in New York City.
Basquiat was a young, up-and-coming artist who rose to fame for his graffiti-inspired paintings and his association with the downtown punk scene.
Warhol was an established artist, known for his Pop Art paintings of everyday objects and celebrities. The two artists met in the early 1980s and quickly formed a close friendship.
They often worked together, with Warhol serving as a mentor to the younger Basquiat. Despite their differences in age and background, the two artists shared a fascination with fame, celebrity, and the commercialization of art.
Basquiat's career was short but influential. He died of a drug overdose in 1988 at the age of 27. Despite his early death, his work continues to be exhibited and collected internationally, and he is considered a pioneer of modern art.