Jean-Michel Basquiat joined the 27 club on August 12, 1988. The cause of death is recorded as: Drug overdose (Speedball)
Jean-Michel Basquiat, born on December 22, 1960, in Brooklyn, New York, was an American painter and graffiti artist who rose to international fame during the late 1970s and 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat is best known for his enigmatic and thought-provoking art that explored dichotomies such as wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience.
In his early years, Basquiat demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for art. His mother instilled a love for it in him by taking him to local museums and enrolling him as a junior member of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. By the age of seven, he had created a children's book, written by himself and illustrated by his friend Marc Prozzo. Basquiat's artistic talent continued to flourish as he grew up, and he began to experiment with graffiti in the late 1970s, forming the duo SAMO with Al Diaz. Together they wrote enigmatic epigrams all over Manhattan's Lower East Side, where rap, punk, and street art coalesced into early hip-hop music culture.
By the early 1980s, Basquiat's paintings were being exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. At just 21 years old, he became one of the youngest artists ever to take part in Documenta in Kassel, Germany. A year later, at only 22, he was among the youngest artists to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial in New York City. The Whitney Museum of American Art held a retrospective of his artwork in 1992.
Basquiat's art was characterized by its fusion of text and image, abstraction, figuration, and historical information mixed with contemporary critique. He used social commentary as a tool for introspection and identifying with the experiences of the black community, as well as attacks on power structures and systems of racism. His paintings often dealt with themes of wealth versus poverty, integration versus segregation, and inner versus outer experience. Since his untimely death at age 27 in 1988, Basquiat's work has continued to gain in value. In 2017, a painting depicting a black skull sold for a record-breaking $110.5 million, cementing his place as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
Despite his tragic early death, Jean-Michel Basquiat's legacy continues to inspire and captivate audiences around the world. His art remains a powerful testament to the transformative power of creativity and the enduring influence of graffiti on contemporary culture. From his humble beginnings as a street artist in New York City to his international acclaim, Basquiat's story is one of perseverance, talent, and the unyielding power of art.