Richard Hambleton

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

An American-Canadian graffiti artist, Richard Hambleton initially attracted public attention by painting faux crime-scene outlines of bodies on pavements. Heralded as the “Godfather of Street Art,” his work is more conceptual than political, aiming to provoke and inspire. Part of a generation whose art was activated and enlivened by the city itself, Hambleton was interested in the interaction of art with its environment. In the early 1980s, Hambleton painted buildings in the Lower East Side of New York City alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring.

During this time, hundreds of Shadowmen appeared across the city; splattered black silhouettes lurking around every corner, each one as unexpected and frightening as the last. For Hambleton, the immediacy of the Shadowman as well as the instant psychological effect on the viewer was at the core of his artistic practice. According to the artist, “they could represent watchmen or danger or the shadows of a human body after a nuclear holocaust or even my own shadow. But what makes them exciting is the power of the viewer’s imagination. It’s that split-second experience when you see the figure that matters.”

While the Shadowmen may have disappeared from the streets of New York, they continue to exist on canvas. Once the works became part of the canvas, they took with them the essence of the walls and streets from which they originated and pulled this darkness into their new space. The life-size work, Shadow Jumper,  due to its large scale, both resonates with the artist’s street art and studio practices. Hambleton’s evocative imagery demonstrates his ability to connect with the imagination of his audience on both an artistic and personal level, creating work as much visually arresting as emotionally stirring.