Richard Hambleton - artist, who in 1980 shook New York City for his provocative actions.

• Richard Hemblton. Hank O'Neal Photo
  Source: Press Release MMSI

Today, 8 September, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art opens an exhibition of legendary New York street-art 1980 Richard Hambleton.

Richard Hambleton - American "pop-expressionist, experimenter- an intellectual godfather of modern street art, artist, who in 1980 shook New York for his provocative actions. He influenced several generations of artistic consciousness, and together with peers, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Herring entered the history of contemporary American art.

• RICHARD Hambleton
  Six shadowy figures. 1999
  Acrylic on canvas. 536 x 182
  Source: Press Release MMSI
• RICHARD Hambleton
  rainy landscape. 1984
  Oil on canvas. 218,4 x 91,4
  Source: Press Release MMSI

The exhibition features 35 works the artist, of which 15 are first shown to the public. "He's one of the most influential artists in the world of street art with a unique story of life and creativity. Art Hambleton genius "- say the curators of the exhibition Andy Valmorbida and Vladimir Restuan-Roytfeld.

Hambleton, a graduate of the Art Institute of San Francisco, preferring a masterful public spaces and their road to fame began with the city streets. In 1976 he was born his first loud series of works titled "Criminal Scene» (Crime Scenes). For three years in different cities appeared "artistic" imitation murders - the image on the sidewalks and roadways silhouettes of human bodies, as if encircled with chalk, with red blotches of paint. Press was indignant, but the first reaction was shock unwitting audiences, and strove to what the artist - an emotional reaction to the viewer, it does not matter, enthusiasm or rejection.

• RICHARD Hambleton
  Standing shadow. 2009
  Acrylic on canvas. 203,2 x 91,4
  Source: Press Release MMSI

In his famous series of street Shadowman (« Man-shadow ") Hambleton exploited a typical urban environment fears - fear of strangers, the dark streets. His image is on the facades of houses, shadow people lay in wait for the audience in the most unexpected places - around the corner, at the end of the alley, the parking lot. Dark expressive silhouettes appeared on the streets of New York, London, Rome and even the Berlin Wall. Artist several times been accused of vandalizing public, although he was never caught in the "creativity". In justification only Hambleton explained that these images are just a form of expression in the metropolis. According to the artist, their figures did not try to express something specific, meaning each silhouette was to give the reaction of the audience and the imagination. Dialogue with the audience, the emotions of passers - the most important part of understanding the creative Hambleton.

• RICHARD Hambleton
  horse and rider. 2009
  Acrylic on canvas. 286 x 165,7
  Source: Press Release MMSI

In contrast to Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Herring, who dramatically left in the zenith of his fame, Richard Hambleton was able to experience full of temptation swirl of New York bohemian life of the 1980's. For 20 years the artist has a fairly secluded life in his studio in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His work in the streets have long been moved in the galleries, exhibitions and private collections. Since the time of tumultuous 1980 Hambleton managed to create several new works and characters - from soldiers to cowboys Marlborough. One of the latest works - a series of Beautiful Paintings («Beautiful pictures"), performed on metal plates and showing an unexpected visual effect of combinations of color and light.

Works of Richard Hambleton are in major museums and private collections - a collection of MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum Andy Warhol Museum, Harvard University and many others. His solo exhibitions with great success in various venues around the world. The exhibition, which is represented in Moscow, before this were in Europe and the United States and was organized by curators Andy Valmorbida and Vladimir Restuan-Roytfeldom together with a designer and admirer Hambleton Giorgio Armani. The exhibition in the theater Armani evoked the most enthusiastic reaction of the audience and the press, because today, even becoming a classic, Hambleton continues to amaze audiences and keep them in suspense.

exhibition will run until September 26, 2010.

Source : Press Release MMSI