MILAN.- Last night, February 25th, Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld and Andy Valmorbida, in collaboration with Giorgio Armani hosted a star studded exhibition opening for “Richard Hambleton – New York” at the Armani / Teatro in Milan, Italy. Guests including Clive Owen, Roberta Armani, Mario Testino, Pierre & Andrea Casiraghi, Eugenie & Stavros Niarchos, Lapo Elkann, Carine Roitfeld, Giovanna Battaglia, Francesca Versace, Tatiana Santa Domingo, Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Marco Perego, Luca del Bono, Maria Buccellati, Conrad de Kwiatkowski, Aby Rosen, Rachel Zoe, Francesco Vezzoli, Fawaz Gruosi, Giuseppe Cipriani, Franca Sozzani, Bianca Brandolini d’Adda, Eva Riccobono, Martina Mondadori and Lola Schnabel enjoyed the exhibition preview and later joined Vladimir and Andy for an after party at the Armani Privé, where they celebrated until the early hours. Richard Hambleton’s works will be available for public viewing and for purchase beginning March 1st, and running through March 12th.

The Exhibition
Last night, legendary New York-based street artist Richard Hambleton’s first European solo exhibition since 1985, “Richard Hambleton – New York”, debuted at the Armani Teatro in Milan, Italy. Curated by Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld and Andy Valmorbida, in collaboration with Giorgio Armani, the exhibition features over 45 original paintings, including 15 never-before-seen works. The exhibition will be open to the public, from March 1st to March 12th, Monday to Friday from 10am to 7pm, at the Armani/ Teatro in Milan.

The Artist
Richard Hambleton rose to fame in the early 1980’s when like his contemporaries, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, he used the streets of New York as his canvas for visually arresting public art, most notably his “Shadowman” and “Crime Scene” series. Hambleton has been labeled ‘The Godfather of Street Art’.

His works can be found in the permanent collections of The MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, The Houston Museum of Fine Art, The Check Point Charlie Museum and The Zellermeyer in Berlin, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Austin Museum of Art, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the New Museum of Contemporary Art, the Queens Museum, and Harvard University. He was chosen for the Venice Biennale in 1984.