Robert Longo

Longo studied art at the State University of New York at Buffalo before establishing himself as a major figure in the 1980s New York contemporary art scene, known especially for large-scale, hyperrealistic charcoal drawings.

A celebrated visual artist whose only feature film happened to be the first William Gibson adaptation ever made, he brought a gallery artist's eye to the wet neon of 2021's data underworld, a rare crossover between the fine-art and studio-filmmaking worlds.

He returned afterward almost entirely to his visual-art career rather than continuing as a director, and remains far better known today as an artist than as a filmmaker.