Born in New York City as Leonard Hilton McGurr, Futura helped define the graffiti movement by moving from lettering towards a painterly, abstract and expressionist design. One of the most renowned figures of the contemporary art scene, illustrator, photographer, sculptor as well as fashion and graphic designer, he began painting on the subway system as a teenager in the early 1970s. While at the time most Graffiti artists focused on lettering, Futura was unique in his Abstract style. In the 1980s, and exhibited along with American artists Keith Haring (1958–1990), Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988), and Kenny Scharf (b.1958).

Heavily involved with arts in general, during the 80’s he began to work on canvas and exhibited with major artists like Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf, as well as collaborated with major fashion brands like A Bathing Ape, Nike and Levi’s. While most of his works are abstract, sometimes resembling Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings, some include elements of urban and street art. One of the most recognizable motifs of the self-taught artist is the so-called Pointman, a robotic figure with a vertically extended head, giving it the form of a spaceship set atop a human-like body.