Richard Hambleton

Richard Hambleton (born July, 1954, Vancouver, Canada) is an artist-painter currently living and working in the Lower East Side of New York City. Richard Hambleton was one of the major artists involved in the art scene during the booming art market of New York City in the 1980's.

Hambleton is most famous for his "Shadowman" paintings of the early 1980's. Each painting resembles a life-sized silhouetted image of some mysterious person. These "shadow paintings" were splashed and brushed with black paint on buildings and other structures across New York City. Although compared to graffiti art, Richard Hambleton considers this work "public art".

Richard Hambleton's other public art includes his Image Mass Murder concept. From 1976 to 1979, Hambleton would paint the police "chalk" outline around bodies of volunteer "homicide victims." He would then splash some red paint on the outline, leaving behind a realistic looking crime scene. These "crime scenes" were done on the streets of several major cities across the world. Like the "Shadowman" paintings, the Image Mass Murder crime scenes would often have the effect of startling or shocking passersby.

In addition to his public art, Richard Hambleton's paintings have been shown all over the world in galleries and museums. Hambleton's most recent work is entitled "Beautiful Paintings", wherein he uses transparent paint on a metallic leaf background in order to reflect the light and color back to the viewer.