Jean-Michel Basquiat, born in 1960, was an art luminary whose graffiti-infused Neo-Expressionist work challenged socio-political norms. Starting as a street artist under the pseudonym SAMO, he transitioned into neo-expressionism, creating powerful dialogues on dichotomies of wealth and poverty, integration and segregation. Basquiat's meteoric rise was cut short by his untimely death in 1988.