HENRY CHALFANT
Henry Chalfant, Américain
Né en 1940
Henry Chalfant, après des études de grec classique à Stanford, commence sa carrière comme sculpteur, exposant son travail à New York et en Europe. C’est en découvrant l’univers du graffiti et du hip-hop qu’il s’oriente vers la photographie et le film documentaire pour en documenter l’émergence. Avec Tony Silver, il co-produit le documentaire « Style Wars », devenu un témoignage iconique du mouvement. Dès le début des années 1980, Chalfant devient l’archiviste officieux du graffiti à New York.
L’aventure commence en 1976, lorsque Chalfant commence à photographier des graffitis sur les rames de métro de New York, fasciné par cet art en pleine expansion. Bien qu’il soit alors sculpteur, il décide de capturer l’essence de ces créations éphémères, pressentant l’importance de les préserver. En rencontrant les artistes graffeurs, il gagne leur confiance et devient progressivement leur documentariste attitré. Ces artistes, d’abord méfiants, voient rapidement en lui un allié, ce qui lui permet d’accéder à des créations inaccessibles au public. En se liant avec cette communauté, Chalfant est présent dès les débuts de la reconnaissance du graffiti par le monde de l’art.
Son studio devient alors un point de ralliement, attirant non seulement les graffeurs de New York, mais aussi ceux du monde entier, ainsi que des conservateurs, enseignants, cinéastes et chercheurs, tous fascinés par ce nouveau phénomène culturel. Pendant près d’une décennie, Chalfant arpente les quartiers de Manhattan, du Bronx, de Brooklyn, et même du Lower East Side et de Staten Island, avec pour unique objectif de photographier les rames décorées de graffitis. Dans les parcs, il est également invité par les DJ à photographier les jams où il immortalise platines, collections de vinyles et baffles géants. Il devient alors connu sous le surnom de « Henry le photographe », l’archiviste du graffiti, bien que son intérêt pour la photographie ait d’abord été purement documentaire.
Chalfant n’imaginait pas l’impact que ses photos des jeunes issus de la culture hip-hop auraient des années plus tard. Ces clichés sont aujourd’hui les témoins d’une époque où des jeunes, avec des moyens limités, ont créé une culture qui s’est propagée mondialement. Alors même que certains critiques d’art déploraient l’épuisement des formes dans l’art contemporain, Chalfant découvre dans le graffiti une expression créative d’une fraîcheur inédite, qui allait marquer durablement le paysage artistique. Henry Chalfant, anthropologue avec Martha Cooper du mouvement!
« J’ai commencé à prendre des photos de graffitis sur les trains en 1976. Je ne pouvais plus contenir ma curiosité et mon enthousiasme pour cet art émergeant que je voyais sur tous ces trains new-yorkais. J’étais un sculpteur à l’aube d’un changement de carrière. Je me suis dit que quelqu’un se devait d’en garder une trace. Pendant près de dix ans, j’ai eu une seule obsession : capturer les 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
