Jean-Michel Basquiat

For a long time, the mysterious graffiti artist hid behind the pseudonym SAMO before he went public with his own works and experienced a rocket-like rise in the New York art scene. Within a few years, the street-artist turned into a much-sought-after celebrity on the art scene and rubbed shoulders with such iconic artists as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. During his short but successful career, he became the most celebrated Neo-Expressionist artist, inspiring extraordinary works that explored his African and Latin American roots and exposed the ills of class society. Just as Andy Warhol was the symbol of Pop Art with his iconic silkscreens, Basquiat became in many ways the figurehead of the Neo-Expressionist movement of the 1980s with his expressive brushstrokes and emotional motifs.