HENRY CHALFANT
Henry Chalfant, American
Born in 1940
Henry Chalfant, after studying Classical Greek at Stanford, began his career as a sculptor, exhibiting his work in New York and Europe. It was through discovering the world of graffiti and hip-hop that he turned to photography and documentary film to capture the emergence of these movements. With Tony Silver, he co-produced the documentary Style Wars, which became an iconic testament to the movement. In the early 1980s, Chalfant became the unofficial archivist of graffiti in New York.
The journey began in 1976 when Chalfant started photographing graffiti on New York subway trains, captivated by this burgeoning art form. Although a sculptor at the time, he decided to capture the essence of these ephemeral creations, sensing the importance of preserving them. By connecting with graffiti artists, he earned their trust and gradually became their designated documentarian. Initially wary, these artists soon saw him as an ally, allowing him access to works that were otherwise hidden from the public. As he bonded with this community, Chalfant was present from the very start of graffiti’s recognition by the art world.
His studio became a meeting point, attracting not only New York graffiti artists but also artists from around the world, along with curators, educators, filmmakers, and researchers—all fascinated by this new cultural phenomenon. For nearly a decade, Chalfant roamed Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and even the Lower East Side and Staten Island, with the sole purpose of photographing graffiti-covered subway cars. In the parks, he was also invited by DJs to photograph jams, capturing turntables, vinyl collections, and massive speakers. He soon became known as “Henry the Photographer,” the archivist of graffiti, even though his initial interest in photography had been purely documentary.
Chalfant couldn’t have foreseen the impact his photos of young people in hip-hop culture would have years later. These images have become witnesses of a time when young people, with limited means, created a culture that spread worldwide. While some art critics lamented the stagnation of contemporary art, Chalfant found in graffiti a fresh and vibrant creative expression that would leave a lasting mark on the artistic landscape.
« I started taking photos of graffiti on trains in 1976. I could no longer contain my curiosity and excitement for this emerging art that I saw on all those New York trains. I was a sculptor on the verge of a career change. I thought someone had to document it. For nearly ten years, I had a single obsession: capturing the trains.» – Henry Chalfant
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SCULPTURE – Solo exhibitions include: A-Dieci Gallery, Padua, Italy, 1970; 14 Sculptors Gallery, New York, 1973; 55 Mercer Gallery, New York, 1978. He was a founding member of 14 Sculptors Gallery.
Group exhibitions include: Sculptors Guild, Lever House, New York, annually, 1974-1983, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, Pa. 1977; O.I.A. Battery Park, New York, 1977; Sculptors Guild, Bronx Botanical Gardens, New York, 1981; Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York, 1981-1983;
PHOTO-DOCUMENTATION – Solo exhibitions include: “Graffiti in New York”, OK Harris, New York, 1980; Canton art Institute, Canton, Ohio, 1981; Riverside Studios, London, 1985; Instituto de Cultura Norteamericana, Barcelona, 1985; Addison – Ripley Gallery, Washington, D.C. 1991. Ten Years: 1977-1987 The Prosper Gallery, New York, 2002; Maharishi, London, 2002; Prosper Tokyo, 2002; Galerie Speerstra, Paris, 2003; Iguapop , Barcelona, 2004; Montana Colors, Barcelona, 2006; Cox 18, Milano, 2006; Galerie Speerstra, Paris, 2006; “Henry Chalfant”, Steven Kasher Gallery, New York, 2014. “Henry Chalfant: 1980”, Eric Firestone Gallery, New York, 2016; Speerstra Gallery, Paris, France, 2017; Paris Photo, Paris, France, 2017. Group exhibitions include: New York/New Wave, P.S.1, New York, 1981; “The Comic Art Show”, Whitney Downtown, New York, 1983; “Content, a Contemporary Focus 1974-1984”, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C. 1984; “Since the Harlem Renaissance, 50 Years of Afro-American
Art”, Bucknell University, 1985; Groningen Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands. 1993: “Urban Mythologies”, The Bronx Museum, New York, 1999. “Art of the American Century Part ll”, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY 1999. “Hip Hop: A Cultural Expression”, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio; 1999; Hip Hop exhibit at the Experience Music Project, Seattle, WA, 2000; Helenbeck Gallery, “Whole in the Wall”, New York, 2009; Cartier Foundation, “Born in the Streets”, Paris, 2009. The Bronx Museum, New York, 2009. “Art in the Streets”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2014. “The Bridges of Graffiti”, Venice Biennial, 2015. “Epoxy Exhibition: Toulouse Urban Culture Festival Rose Beton”, Museé des Abattoirs, Toulouse, France, 2016. “Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect”, Bronx Museum of Arts, New York, 2017. “Hip-Hop, Un Age d’Or”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Marseille, France, 2017.
BOOKS – Subway Art, Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, Thames and Hudson, London, 1984, Henry Holt, New York, 1984; Spray Can Art, Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff, Thames and Hudson, London and New York, 1987. Subway Art 25th Anniversary Edition, Thames and Hudson, London and Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2009. Training Days, Henry Chalfant and Sacha Jenkins, Thames and Hudson, London, 2015.
FILM AND VIDEO – Co-produced Style Wars, a PBS documentary film with Tony Silver, New York, 1984; produced with Rita Fecher and directed the documentary on South Bronx gangs, Flyin’ Cut Sleeves, 1993. Produced and directed Visit Palestine: Ten Days on the West Bank. 2002 and directed From Mambo to Hip Hop, a documentary produced by City Lore Inc. 2006 Chalfant’s current project is a documentary film, working title, “Grand Tour”, based on film footage his father shot in 1931 while on a trip around the world. Chalfant is executive producer on Queer City, released in 2015, a documentary on gay life in New York in the new millennium, and Some Girls, a documentary exploring issues of identity within the Bronx Latina-American community.
SELECT PUBLIC COLLECTIONS – Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands; Bronx Museum, New York.
Exhibitions
A-Dieci Gallery (1970), Padua
14 Sculptors Gallery (1973), New York
Sculptors Guild, Lever House (1974), New York
Three Rivers Arts Festival (1977), Pittsburgh
O.I.A. (1977) Battery Park, New York
55 Mercer Gallery (1978), New York
New York/New Wave (1981) P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York
Sculptors Guild (1981) Bronx Botanical Garden, New York
Elaine Benson Gallery (1981) Bridgehampton, New York
The Comic Art Show (1983) Whitney Downtown, New York
Content, a Contemporary Focus 1974-1984 (1984) Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.
Since the Harlem Renaissance: 50 Years of Afro-American Art (1985) Bucknell University, Lewisburg
Hip Hop: A Cultural Expression (1999) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland
Art of the American Century Part ll (1999) Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Urban Mythologies (1999) Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York
Hip Hop (2000) Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle
Born in the Streets (2009) Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris
Art in the Streets (2011) Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Moving Murals (2014) City Lore Gallery, New York
City as Canvas: Graffiti Art From the Martin Wong Collection (2014) Museum of the City of New York
1980 (2016) Eric Firestone Loft, New York
Art Is Not A Crime 1977-1987 (2018) CEART Fuenlabrada, Madrid[12]
Henry Chalfant: Art vs. Transit, 1977-1987 (2019) Bronx Museum, New York [13]
Chalfant’s solo exhibitions also include[14] Maharishi (2002), London; Prosper (2002), Tokyo; Galerie Speerstra (2003, 2006), Paris; Iguapop (2004), Barcelona; Montana Colors (2006), Barcelona; and Cox 18 (2006), Milano
Group exhibitions include: Sculptors Guild, Lever House, New York, annually, 1974-1983, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, Pa. 1977; O.I.A. Battery Park, New York, 1977; Sculptors Guild, Bronx Botanical Gardens, New York, 1981; Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York, 1981-1983;
PHOTO-DOCUMENTATION – Solo exhibitions include: “Graffiti in New York”, OK Harris, New York, 1980; Canton art Institute, Canton, Ohio, 1981; Riverside Studios, London, 1985; Instituto de Cultura Norteamericana, Barcelona, 1985; Addison – Ripley Gallery, Washington, D.C. 1991. Ten Years: 1977-1987 The Prosper Gallery, New York, 2002; Maharishi, London, 2002; Prosper Tokyo, 2002; Galerie Speerstra, Paris, 2003; Iguapop , Barcelona, 2004; Montana Colors, Barcelona, 2006; Cox 18, Milano, 2006; Galerie Speerstra, Paris, 2006; “Henry Chalfant”, Steven Kasher Gallery, New York, 2014. “Henry Chalfant: 1980”, Eric Firestone Gallery, New York, 2016; Speerstra Gallery, Paris, France, 2017; Paris Photo, Paris, France, 2017. Group exhibitions include: New York/New Wave, P.S.1, New York, 1981; “The Comic Art Show”, Whitney Downtown, New York, 1983; “Content, a Contemporary Focus 1974-1984”, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C. 1984; “Since the Harlem Renaissance, 50 Years of Afro-American
Art”, Bucknell University, 1985; Groningen Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands. 1993: “Urban Mythologies”, The Bronx Museum, New York, 1999. “Art of the American Century Part ll”, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY 1999. “Hip Hop: A Cultural Expression”, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio; 1999; Hip Hop exhibit at the Experience Music Project, Seattle, WA, 2000; Helenbeck Gallery, “Whole in the Wall”, New York, 2009; Cartier Foundation, “Born in the Streets”, Paris, 2009. The Bronx Museum, New York, 2009. “Art in the Streets”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2014. “The Bridges of Graffiti”, Venice Biennial, 2015. “Epoxy Exhibition: Toulouse Urban Culture Festival Rose Beton”, Museé des Abattoirs, Toulouse, France, 2016. “Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect”, Bronx Museum of Arts, New York, 2017. “Hip-Hop, Un Age d’Or”, Museum of Contemporary Art, Marseille, France, 2017.
BOOKS – Subway Art, Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, Thames and Hudson, London, 1984, Henry Holt, New York, 1984; Spray Can Art, Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff, Thames and Hudson, London and New York, 1987. Subway Art 25th Anniversary Edition, Thames and Hudson, London and Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2009. Training Days, Henry Chalfant and Sacha Jenkins, Thames and Hudson, London, 2015.
FILM AND VIDEO – Co-produced Style Wars, a PBS documentary film with Tony Silver, New York, 1984; produced with Rita Fecher and directed the documentary on South Bronx gangs, Flyin’ Cut Sleeves, 1993. Produced and directed Visit Palestine: Ten Days on the West Bank. 2002 and directed From Mambo to Hip Hop, a documentary produced by City Lore Inc. 2006 Chalfant’s current project is a documentary film, working title, “Grand Tour”, based on film footage his father shot in 1931 while on a trip around the world. Chalfant is executive producer on Queer City, released in 2015, a documentary on gay life in New York in the new millennium, and Some Girls, a documentary exploring issues of identity within the Bronx Latina-American community.
SELECT PUBLIC COLLECTIONS – Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands; Bronx Museum, New York.
Exhibitions
A-Dieci Gallery (1970), Padua
14 Sculptors Gallery (1973), New York
Sculptors Guild, Lever House (1974), New York
Three Rivers Arts Festival (1977), Pittsburgh
O.I.A. (1977) Battery Park, New York
55 Mercer Gallery (1978), New York
New York/New Wave (1981) P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York
Sculptors Guild (1981) Bronx Botanical Garden, New York
Elaine Benson Gallery (1981) Bridgehampton, New York
The Comic Art Show (1983) Whitney Downtown, New York
Content, a Contemporary Focus 1974-1984 (1984) Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.
Since the Harlem Renaissance: 50 Years of Afro-American Art (1985) Bucknell University, Lewisburg
Hip Hop: A Cultural Expression (1999) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland
Art of the American Century Part ll (1999) Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Urban Mythologies (1999) Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York
Hip Hop (2000) Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle
Born in the Streets (2009) Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris
Art in the Streets (2011) Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Moving Murals (2014) City Lore Gallery, New York
City as Canvas: Graffiti Art From the Martin Wong Collection (2014) Museum of the City of New York
1980 (2016) Eric Firestone Loft, New York
Art Is Not A Crime 1977-1987 (2018) CEART Fuenlabrada, Madrid[12]
Henry Chalfant: Art vs. Transit, 1977-1987 (2019) Bronx Museum, New York [13]
Chalfant’s solo exhibitions also include[14] Maharishi (2002), London; Prosper (2002), Tokyo; Galerie Speerstra (2003, 2006), Paris; Iguapop (2004), Barcelona; Montana Colors (2006), Barcelona; and Cox 18 (2006), Milano
EPOCHAL VISIONS: AN EXHAUSTIVE CHRONICLE OF WORKS BELONGING OR HAVING BELONGED TO THE GALLERY’S COLLECTIONS
