Richard Hambleton @ Maddox Gallery
Richard Hambleton was a Canadian artist best known for his street art alongside artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, who were also members of the booming art scene in New York in the 1980s. Hambleton was the first artist to use New York City as his canvas.
The Maddox Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition of some of Richard Hambleton’s most iconic and recognised art such as ‘Shadowman’ and Rodeo works which are shown below. The exhibition also presents work that is rare or has never been seen before.
I was especially drawn to Hambleton’s work as his style and ‘Shadowman’ figures reminded me of a particular idea for some of my own paintings, linked to the idea of chaos and anger, that I had toyed around with in my sketchbook with a similar use of a limited palette. The somewhat messy quality, yet carefully crafted, look of his subjects embed a suggestion of movement and sense of being alive. Hence the idea of the shadow man, the dark, splattered figure being a personal reflection of the artist himself.
Another reason I was interested in Hambleton’s work as it is mix of urban/street art and abstract expressionism, two styles of art that I have thoroughly explored and experimented with myself. His splatters and iconic use of the city as his canvas suggest that this is his own form of graffiti.
