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Jean-Michel BasquiatJean-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.
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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.
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Basquiat's work was characterized by its raw energy, bold lines, and expressive use of language and symbols.
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He often used his paintings to comment on social and political issues, particularly those relating to race and inequality.
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His work was highly sought after by collectors, and he gained a reputation as one of the most important artists of his generation.
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Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol were two prominent figures in the 1980s art scene in New York City.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.