Collection: Richard Hambleton

Richard Hambleton (1952–2017) is one of the most mythical figures of New York street art — the “Shadowman” whose black silhouettes haunted the streets of Manhattan in the early 1980s. Galerie Bonnet-Abelin presents below a group of the artist's works.

The Shadowman of New York

Born in Vancouver in 1952, Hambleton first made his name with the “Image Mass Murder” series (1976-1978): crime-scene silhouettes traced in chalk and splashed with red paint in the streets of several North American cities. Settled in New York, from 1980 he covered the Lower East Side with hundreds of “Shadowmen” — black silhouettes springing from the city's blind corners, painted at night, designed to startle the passer-by. Alongside Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose downtown scene of the 1980s he shared, he exhibited as far as the Venice Biennale, in 1984 and 1988.

The dark legend

Withdrawn from the art world at the end of the 1980s, ravaged by addiction and illness yet painting relentlessly — his rearing “Marlboro Men”, his abstract landscapes — Hambleton became a cult figure whose story is told in Oren Jacoby's documentary “Shadowman” (2017). His death in 2017 sealed a now sought-after body of work: the last survivor of the Haring–Basquiat–Hambleton trio is today recognised as a direct forerunner of Banksy — who has himself acknowledged his influence — and his market has kept rising in international sales.

Hambleton at Galerie Bonnet-Abelin

The gallery presents a group of works on paper, PVC and singular supports — including a “Shadow Head Portrait” painted on FedEx packaging, a typical gesture from an artist who painted on whatever passed through his hands — as well as “Horse and Rider” works from his final years.

Acquiring a work by Richard Hambleton

The works can be viewed at the gallery, 36 avenue Foch, Lyon 6ᵉ, by appointment. Each work comes with a certificate of authenticity. The gallery, currently preparing its Geneva location, also assists Swiss and international collectors. Prices and documentation on request: contact@galeriebonnetabelin.com.