Est. 2014
Richard Hambleton (1952-2017) was an American-Canadian graffiti artist best known for his recurring motif of a black-silhouetted figure known as the Shadowman. Along with his contemporaries Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hambleton painted directly on the streets of New York and achieved success during the art boom of the 1980s. “I painted the town black,” he once said. “They could represent watchmen or danger or the shadows of a human body after a nuclear holocaust or even my own shadow.” Born on June 23, 1952 in Vancouver, Canada, he studied at the Vancouver School of Art before beginning his Image Mass Murder series in 1976. These works mimicked the look of chalk outlines used by police during crime scene investigations. Settling in New York in 1979, Hambleton transitioned from street art to producing paintings in his studio. He went on to participate in both the 1984 and 1988 Venice Biennale. The artist died on October 29, 2017 in New York, NY. Today, Hambleton’s works are held in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others.
1954
Born in Vancouver, Canada
1975
BFA, painting and art history, Emily Carr School of Art, Vancouver, Canada
1975–1980
Founder and Co-Director “Pumps” Center for Alternative Art, Gallery, Performance and Video Space; Vancouver, Canada
2017
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2017
Richard Hambleton: I Only Have Eyes For You, Woodward Gallery, NYC (solo)
Introducing Woodward Gallery Windows, Woodward Gallery, NYC, February 2- March 31.
2016
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2016
Scribble, Scratch, Paint- Once Removed- 13 Windows, 13 Artists- One Wall, The Windows at NYU Kimmel Gallery, June 10 - August 31, NYC
Fall Salon, Woodward Gallery, NYC, September 10 – October 28
2015
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2015
Réelles Distorsions, Xippas Gallery,Andres Dobler/ Sylvie Fleury/ Richard Hambleton/ Hayan Kam Nakache/ Stephane Kropf, Paris March 4- April 18 2015
All Together Different: A Survey of Working Artists on the Lower East Side, Manny Cantor Center, New York, NY
20in15,Woodward Gallery, NYC
Réelles Distorsions - Andres Dobler/ Sylvie Fleury/ Richard Hambleton/ Hayan Kam Nakache/ Stephane Kropf, Xippas Gallery, Paris March 4- April 18 2015
2014
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2014
Sur-Real, Woodward Gallery, NYC.
Loisaida: New York’s Lower East Side in the ‘80’s, Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA.
2013
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2013
Richard Hambleton: Beautiful Paintings,curated by Director John Woodward, Art Gallery at the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, Sleepy Hollow, NY (solo)
Ghost Girl Corn Maze, Barton Orchard, Poughquag, NY in collaboration with David Phillips and Woodward Gallery, NYC.
From the Street Up, Woodward Gallery, NYC.
2012
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2012
Print, Woodward Gallery, NYC
2011
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2011
Richard Hambleton: A Retrospective,presented by Andy Valmorbida and Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld in collaboration with Phillips de Pury and Giorgio Armani at Phillips de Pury & Company, New York (solo)
On Every Street, Samuel Owen Gallery, Greenwich, CT. Curated by Michael DeFeo in colaboration with Woodward Gallery. October 6 - November 3rd.
Art in the Streets, MoCA, Los Angeles, CA.
Pantheon: A History of Street Art in New York City, Donnell Library Building across from MoMA, April 2-17, New York, NY.
2010
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2010
Richard Hambleton New York, The Godfather of Street Art, presented by Andy Valmorbida and Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld in collaboration with Giorgio Armani at The Dairy, London (solo)
Richard Hambleton New York, presented by Andy Valmorbida and Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld in collaboration with Giorgio Armani at the State Museum of Modern Art of the Russian Academy of Arts, Moscow (solo)
Richard Hambleton New York, presented by Andy Valmorbida and Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld in collaboration with Giorgio Armani, Milan (solo)
Richard Hambleton New York, presented by Andy Valmorbida and Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld in collaboration with Giorgio Armani, amFAR Annual Benefit (solo)
NEVER RECORDS: Part of No Longer Empty’s “Never Can Say Goodbye,” Curated by Manon Slome, Steven Evans, DIA Art Foundation, Asher Remy - Toledo at the former Tower Records at Broadway and West 4th, New York, NY
BIG Paper Winter, featuring original works by Basquiat, Calder, DeKooning, Richard Hambleton, Franz Kline, Rauschenberg, Ad Reinhardt, Warhol; Woodward Gallery, NYC
2009
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2009
Richard Hambleton New York, presented by Andy Valmorbida and Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld in collaboration with Giorgio Armani, New York, NY
2008
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2008
Off the Wall, From Vandalism to Urban Art,November 1 - December 13, 2008, Wilde Gallery, Berlin
Punk. No One is Innocent, May 16 - September 7, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
Stoked Benefit Art Auction, April 5, Milk Gallery at Phillips de Pury, New York, NY
Works on Paper, Woodward Gallery at the Park Avenue Armory, 20th Anniversary, February 29 - March 3, New York, NY
2007–2008
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2007-2008
Behind the Seen, Ad Hoc Art, Brooklyn, NY featuring street work by Swoon, Keith Haring, Ron English, Shepard Fairey, Lee Quiñones, and others. Curated by Michael de Feo
2007
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2007
The Beautiful Paintings, Woodward Gallery, New York (solo)
Contemporary Art Society Benefit Auction, November 2, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI (group)
The Media: Reaction, Reflections, and Comments on the Culture of Media, featured with Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, May 27 - July 13, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA.
2006–2007
Richard Hambleton Exhibitions in 2006-2007
The New York Art Scene 1974-1984, Grey Art Gallery, New York. Traveling to The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and The Austin Museum of Art, Austin, Texas
Gallery Artists ‘06-’07, Woodward Gallery, New York, NY
2005
“Vintage East Village,” Hal Bromm Gallery, New York
2004–2005
“East Village USA,” December 9, 2004 - March 19, 2005, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY.
1986–1987
“Public and Private: American Prints Today: The 24th National Print Exhibition,” traveling exhibition: Brooklyn Museum, Flint Institute of Arts, RISD, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, including works by Eric Fischl, Richard Hambleton, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Donald Sultan, Wayne Thiebaud, James Turrell, and Andy Warhol.
1985
Piezo Electric Gallery, New York (solo)
1985
Salvatore Ala Gallery, New York (solo)
1985
Zellermayer Galerie, Berlin, Germany (solo)
1985
Museo DeArte Costaricense, Costa Rica, Spain (solo)
1985
“Syndesthetics,” PS 1, Long Island City, New York
1985
“Smart Art,” Toesph Mosheck, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1984
“Of the Streets,” University of Colorado, Aspen, featuring Jenny Holzer, Tom Warren, Richard Hambleton, Lady Pink, John Fekner, CRASH, Daze, Keith Haring, David Wojnarowicz, Marc Brasz, Spank, Candace Hill-Montgomery, and John Ahearn
1984
“New Talent - New York,” travelling exhibition organized by Sioux City Art Center, Iowa
1984
“East Village Artists,” The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia
1984
“East Village Scene,” Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1984
“Activated Walls,” The Queens Museum, New York
1984
“Chill Out,” Kenkeleba House, New York
1984
“Romance and Catastrophe,” Zellermayer Gallerie, Berlin, Germany
1984
“Sculpture Now,” Anna Friebe Galerie, Koln, Germany
1984
“25,000 Sculptors from Across the USA,” Civilian Warfare, New York
1984
“Aperto ‘84,” BIENNALE DIE VENEZIA, Venice, Italy
1984
“Body Politic,” Tower Gallery, New York
1984
“Arte di Frontiera,” Galeria Communale d’arte Moderna, Bologna, Milan and Rome, Italy
1984
“Situation,” Bess Cutler Gallery, New York
1984
“Galleries of the Lower East Side,” Artist Space, New York
1984
“Limbo,” PS 1, Long Island City, New York
1984
“Totem,” Bonnier Gallery, Charles Cowles Gallery, and Germans Van Eck Gallery, New York
1984
“Abstract Persona,” Dramatis Personae Gallery, New York
1984
“121,” Antwerp, Belgium (solo)
1984
Anna Friebe Galerie, Cologne, Germany (solo)
1984
Galerie Barbara Farber, Amsterdam (solo)
1984
Galerie Salvatore Ala, Milano, Italy (solo)
1984
Salvatore Ala Gallery, New York (solo)
1983
Piezo Electric, New York (solo)
1983
Civilian Warefare, New York (solo)
1983
Limbo Lounge, New York (solo)
1983
Abstract Persona, Dramatis Personae Gallery, New York
1983
Piezo Electric, New York
1983
“Vancouver: art and artists 1931-1983” Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver
1983
Ronald Feldman Gallery, New York
1983
“Black and White Show,” Kenkelba Gallery, New York
1983
Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York
1983
Galleri Cassandra, Norway
1983
Seventh Annual Forgione, New York
1983
Fashion Moda, Bronx, New York
1983
Tweed Gallery, New Jersey
1983
Weatherspoon Art Gallery, North Carolina
1983
Greenville County Museum of Art, South Carolina
1983
American Graffiti Gallery, Amsterdam
1983
Group Material- Subculture, New York
1983
Pier 34 Project, New York
1983
International Running Center, New York
1983
“Terminal New York” , Brooklyn, New York
1982
Club 57, New York
1982
5th International Apartment Festival, March 15-21
1982
Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York
1982
Pyramid, New York
1982
Cheltenham Art Center, Pennsylvania
1982
Alexander Milliken Gallery, New York
1982
Squat Theater, New York
1982
Sarah Lawrence College Gallery, New York
1982
“Art on the Beach,” Creative Time’s, New York
1982
Second Story Books, Baltimore
1982
“The Real Estate Show,” ABC No Rio, New York
1982
Alexander Milliken- East Village Gallery, New York (solo)
1982
Flavio Belli Gallery, Toronto, Canada (solo)
1981
9th Street Survival Show, New York
1981
Club 57, New York
1981
White Columns, New York
1981
ABC No Rio, New York
1981
Public Image Gallery, New York
1980
“Times Square Show,” Collaborative Projects Incorporated and Fashion Moda, New York
1980
La Mamelle, Inc. San Francsico, CA (solo)
1979
Pumps Center for Art, Vancouver, Canada (solo)
1978
Western Front, Vancouver, Canada (solo)
1977
Pumps Center for Art, Vancouver, Canada (solo)