Friday September 9, 2011 – Phillips de Pury & Company
Last night’s fete celebrated the ”Godfather of Street Art”, Richard Hambleton. Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld and Andy Valmorbida, in collaboration with Giorgio Armani and Phillips de Pury & Company, presented Richard Hambleton: A Retrospective, a survey of selected historical works from the legendary painter. But the curator duo did more than just setup the event; they convinced the reclusive artist to attend his own celebration. Avoiding any kind of media attention for nearly two decades, few had ever seen him until he showed up at the event. He is one of the few remaining artists from the original Rat Pack of Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. His work is oftentimes compared to graffiti art, though Hambleton says it’s “public art”.
“Public art” because the artist used to paint his “shadowmen” in the streets, on building corners, and alleyways. His late 70’s “Mass Murder” installations, done across the United States, consisted of police “chalk” outlines with splashes of red paint, leaving behind a realistic looking crime scene. “Shadowmen” have been seen around the world, from Paris to London to Rome, and even, in 1984, 17 life-size figures on the East side of the Berlin Wall.
“When he throws white or black on the canvas, his waves break, his rodeo rider bucks, a man shot seems blown apart”
– Michael Brenson, New York Times art critic
This exhibition is the final installment of an international series curated by Roitfeld and Valmorbida in collaboration with Giorgio Armani, which has included solo shows in New York, Milan, Cannes, Moscow, and London. ‘Richard Hambleton: A Retrospective’ highlights 50 of Hambleton’s most influential works spanning from 1982 to the present, as well as twenty iconic images of the artist’s work chronicled by photographer Hank O’Neal. A new catalogue is accompanying the exhibition and features an essay by Christian Viveros-Faune.
After the opening, VIPs headed to Indochine for an after-party, with music by DJ Nick Cohen, that lasted well into the night.
Guests included Carine Roitfeld, PC Valmorbida, Stavros Niarchos Jr., Mary-Kate Olsen, Owen Wilson, Lindsay Lohan, Charlotte Sarkozy, David Maupin, Dennis Freedman, Lauren Hutton, Lauren Remington Platt, Leonardo Ferragamo, Nemo Librizzi, Ouattara Watts, Sky Ferreira, Stefano Tonchi, Stephen Schwarzman, Suzy Menkes, Caroline Sieber, Coco Brandolini, Hannah Bronfman, Jean-Marc Houmard, Margherita Missoni, Nicola Vassell, Nur Khan, Sante D’Orazio, Vikram Chatwal, Vito Schnabel, Lola Schnabel, Tom Sachs, Mario Sorrenti, Carlos De Souza, Gherardo Guarducci, Nina Flohr, Thomas Flohr, Alberto Mugrabi, Alexis Rockman, Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, Doutzen Kroes, Olivia Sandelman and many more.
The Richard Hambleton Exhibition is open to the public
September 10 – September 13, 2011
10am to 6pm
Phillips de Pury & Company
450 West 15th Street
New York, 10011
http://phillipsdepury.com
See all the photos below:
Photos by Billy Farrell Agency and Stylerumor.com
Guests wearing Emporio Armani included Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Meghan Kelly, Zani Gugelmann, Choralie Charriol, Lauren Remington Platt, Bar Refaeli, Camilla Alves, and Julia Jones. Guests wearing Giorgio Armani included Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, Andy Valmorbida, Dori Cooperman, Chrissie Miller, Sarah Howard, Nicole Hanley Mellon, Annelise Peterson, Lauren Hutton, and Nicky Hilton.