Jean-Michel Basquiat

Guy Hepner, New York.

Jean-Michel Masquiat was born and lived in New York City in 1960 up until his death in 1988. He worked with graffiti and was a part of neoexpressionismen. His art features multicultural symbols, distorted figures, and biting social commentary. He was one of the first African-American artists that gained international fame and recognition in the art world, consitantly incorporating political dimensions into his art. Basquiat was influenced by everything from comic series, Alfred Hitchcock’s movies to anatomical studies. He quickly left school and became well known through his pseudonym SAMO, “Same Old Shit”. He would write cryptic messages on walls, found objects and commercial items. He created his own iconography, evoking Latin American, antiquated, and Greek imagery.