Richard Hambleton
Artist Richard Hambleton stalked the streets of '80s New York and left a trail of haunting graffiti works in his wake, yet somehow art history wrote him out of its pages.
Richard Hambleton is an artist-painter who, along with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, had great success coming out of the New York City art scene during the booming art market of the 1980's. Much of Hambleton's work is compared to graffiti art, however, Hambleton considers this work to be "public art".
Richard Hambleton is most famous for his "Shadowman" paintings of the early 1980s. Each painting resembles a life-sized silhouetted image of some mysterious person. These "shadow paintings" were splashed and brushed with black paint on buildings and other structures across New York City. Locations were believed to be calculated for maximum impact upon unsuspecting pedestrians. Very often, a "shadowman" could be found in a dark alley or lurking just around a street corner.
In addition to "Shadowman", Hamilton is also known for his early public art concept, "Image Mass Murder". From 1976 to 1979, Hambleton would paint the police "chalk" outline around bodies of volunteer "homicide victims." He would then splash some red paint on the outline, leaving behind a realistic looking crime scene. These "crime scenes" were done on the streets of several major cities across the world. Like his "Shadowman" paintings, the Image Mass Murder "crime scenes" would often have the effect of startling or shocking passersby.
Hambleton’s art was a sort of apolitical social commentary, a keen reflection of the times in which he lived. Following the chalk drawings, he initiated a series of quickly executed wall paintings of primitive figures, lurking like cave paintings in the city’s dark corners and side streets. Dipping into the night with a can of black paint hidden under his trench coat, Hambleton would execute each painting in a matter of seconds, his brushstrokes expressive and hypercool.
Hamilton's paintings have been shown all over the world in galleries and museums, including paintings on canvas and paper of his "shadow" work. His artwork has been represented in the Venice Biennale in 1984 and 1988.
+ V Magazine
Richard Hambleton is an artist-painter who, along with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, had great success coming out of the New York City art scene during the booming art market of the 1980's. Much of Hambleton's work is compared to graffiti art, however, Hambleton considers this work to be "public art".
Richard Hambleton is most famous for his "Shadowman" paintings of the early 1980s. Each painting resembles a life-sized silhouetted image of some mysterious person. These "shadow paintings" were splashed and brushed with black paint on buildings and other structures across New York City. Locations were believed to be calculated for maximum impact upon unsuspecting pedestrians. Very often, a "shadowman" could be found in a dark alley or lurking just around a street corner.
In addition to "Shadowman", Hamilton is also known for his early public art concept, "Image Mass Murder". From 1976 to 1979, Hambleton would paint the police "chalk" outline around bodies of volunteer "homicide victims." He would then splash some red paint on the outline, leaving behind a realistic looking crime scene. These "crime scenes" were done on the streets of several major cities across the world. Like his "Shadowman" paintings, the Image Mass Murder "crime scenes" would often have the effect of startling or shocking passersby.
Hambleton’s art was a sort of apolitical social commentary, a keen reflection of the times in which he lived. Following the chalk drawings, he initiated a series of quickly executed wall paintings of primitive figures, lurking like cave paintings in the city’s dark corners and side streets. Dipping into the night with a can of black paint hidden under his trench coat, Hambleton would execute each painting in a matter of seconds, his brushstrokes expressive and hypercool.
Hamilton's paintings have been shown all over the world in galleries and museums, including paintings on canvas and paper of his "shadow" work. His artwork has been represented in the Venice Biennale in 1984 and 1988.
+ V Magazine
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