Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) also known as SAMO, was an American artist who through painting and graffiti became the most successful visual artist in the history of African American art.
After living a complicated childhood and a rebellious youth, in 1977, together with Al Díaz, he became involved in the world of graphite, painting on the subway cars and in the SoHo areas in NY.
The following year he dropped out of school and left home, lived on the streets for a couple of years and survived on what he got from selling postcards and T-shirts that he decorated himself.
His graffiti and pints had a great poetic, philosophical and satirical charge.
Self-promotion and advertising claim were for Basquiat priority factors in his work.
He worked very hand in hand with Andy Warhol.
Abstract expressionism, Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning and Cy Twombly were a source of inspiration for the artist with Haitian and Puerto Rican roots and the reason why SAMO achieved a great mastery of expressively gestural graphics.
His deep interest in popular culture led him to acquire a graffiti and expressive quality of his graffiti.
Jean-Michel Basquiat's work was closer to post-pop painting and figuration than to graffiti.
Basquiat was concerned with transmitting in his creations the problem of belonging to two ethnic minorities, the African American and the Latino.
Throughout his brief and intense artistic career, he made more than 40 individual exhibitions and participated in around 100 collective exhibitions.
Did you know that?
- In 1996 Basquiat's life was brought to the big screen. David Bowie portrayed Andy Warhol.
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In 2000, the movie "Downtown 81" was released, where Basquiat is located at the age of 19 in New York City, before his fame.