Jean-Michel Basquiat Art

Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 – 1988) was one of the most original and influential Street Artists of his generation. His artworks have a primitive look that belied their complexity and the artist's unique talent. Basquiat was born in Brooklyn of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent and first gained notoriety in the late 1970s painting graffiti under the tag name SAMO. He catapulted to fame with paintings that incorporated a fusion of words, symbols, stick figures, animals, and historical and cultural references. Basquiat was befriended by Andy Warhol and collaborated with the renowned Pop Artist on 100 artworks. Despite a career tragically cut short by a heroin overdose, Basquiat introduced the unique African-American and Latino experience to the elite art world.