www.wallpaper.com /art/photography/tony-notarberardino-chelsea-hotel-portraits-aca-galleries-new-york

Tony Notarberardino’s Chelsea Hotel Portraits preserve a slice of bygone New York life

Hannah Silver 7-9 minutes 4/5/2024
From ‘Tony Notarberardino: Chelsea Hotel Portraits, 1994-2010’ exhibition, black and white portrait of performer in jewelled costume smoking, and photo of hotel sign

Left, Tony Notarberardino, ‘Bonnie’, 2006, and right, Chelsea Hotel, 2004

(Image credit: © Tony Notarberardino. Courtesy the artist and ACA Galleries, New York)

In the 1990s, New York’s the Chelsea Hotel was a hub of bonhomie and bohemianism. An eclectic crowd gathered there, drawn both to the artistic environment it cultivated and for its reputation for setting in motion creative collaborations and avant-garde performances.

For photographer Tony Notarberardino, the hotel was a refuge when he arrived in New York City in 1994. Brought up in Melbourne, Australia, by Italian emigrant parents, Notarberardino – who still lives in the same apartment at The Chelsea Hotel today – was fascinated by the clientele. ‘As a photographer, I found the people who congregated at the hotel – and the hotel itself – to be so inspiring and visually striking,’ he says. ‘It was this magical, commingling of people from all walks of life that made life at the hotel so continuously compelling. It became and continues to be my home.’

black and white portrait of singer Debbie Harry, posing against wall

Tony Notarberardino, Debbie Harry, 2005

(Image credit: © Tony Notarberardino. Courtesy the artist and ACA Galleries, New York)

The move marked the beginning of a series of portraits. ‘At 4am one night in September 1997, I was inside the Chelsea Hotel elevator, returning home, when a hand adorned with long, painted fingernails blocked it from closing. In walked an aged drag queen carrying more shopping bags than she could manage while holding the hand of a six-year-old boy. After four years of letting these moments pass by, I introduced myself and asked if I could photograph her. Without hesitation, she agreed.’

The resulting, large black and white photographs are the subject of a current exhibition at New York’s ACA Galleries. Notarberardino, who has photographed more than 1,500 subjects, continues to capture portraits daily in his hallway, using his vintage 1960s Toyo-View 810GII camera.

black and white portrait of Stanley Bard holding coffee and briefcase

Tony Notarberardino, Stanley Bard, 2008. Bard was co-owner and manager of the Chelsea Hotel for more than four decades

(Image credit: © Tony Notarberardino. Courtesy the artist and ACA Galleries, New York)

 ‘When I first started the series, I was photographing everyone: from the hotel cleaning staff, El Quijote [restaurant] staff waiters, to celebrities. I wasn’t exactly looking – I was more reacting to the circumstances I was in. There is no one formula that led me to photograph people, but it had to do with their style, uniqueness, and something that just drew my attention. These photographs document a piece of New York counterculture history that has been incredibly important to many artists, musicians, and other creatives.’

'Tony Notarberardino: Chelsea Hotel Portraits, 1994–2010' until 27 April 2024 at
ACA Galleries in New York

acagalleries.com

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black and white portrait of Dee Dee Ramone with bare tattooed chest

Tony Notarberardino, Dee Dee Ramone, 1998, of punk band the Ramones

(Image credit: © Tony Notarberardino. Courtesy the artist and ACA Galleries, New York)

Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers, viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels. 

breasts in art: nude mannequin, part of artwork on show in ‘Breasts’ exhibition at ACP Palazzo, Venice

Marcel Duchamp, Prière de Toucher, 1947, Modified readymade: foam rubber breast on velvet mounted paper, 10 cm diameter

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist and a private collection, London)

Breasts have endlessly captivated artists – from the Old Masters to Cindy Sherman, Richard Dupont to Marcel Duchamp. Across the centuries, and through the mediums of sculpture, photography, film and painting, they have been a lens through which to dissect sexuality, illness, motherhood and politics, as well as igniting discussions on identity, class and race. They have also been fascinating, funny and fantastic, simply in their own right.

Now, a major new group exhibition in Venice asks why. Bringing together 30 established and emerging artists, curator Carolina Pasti is considering the issue at ACP Palazzo Franchetti. But where to begin?

Venice group show grapples with breasts in art

breasts in art: nude pink mannequin

Allen Jones, Cover Story, composition with leather accessories and brass support, 2021

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist. © Courtesy Galleria d'Arte Maggiore Allen Jones.)

‘Starting from a Cycladic fragment [and extending] to a Madonna lactans, my portrayal of breasts focuses mainly on post-war and contemporary artists and their approach to extremely topical issues such as feminism, breast cancer, breastfeeding, motherhood, sexuality, and the changes that have taken place over the decades throughout the world,’ says Pasti, who aims to both celebrate the iconography of breasts and raise awareness of breast cancer.

carved colourful stool with breasts set inside

Paa Joe x Charlotte Colbert, Breasts Stool, 2023, Wood, 78 x 53 x 38 cm 

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist. Courtesy of the Philip and Charlotte Colbert collection, London)

Divided into five rooms, the exhibition considers the representation of breasts through time, beginning with the Old Masters, including Madonna del Latte (Madonna Breastfeeding the Child), a work that influenced Cindy Sherman as well as prompting Teniqua Clementine Crawford and Sherrie Levine to review Renaissance elements throughout their work. The exhibition moves on to the sculptural translation of breasts, with works including Marcel Duchamp’s mixed media Prière de toucher (Please Touch) and Claude Lalanne’s wearable breastplate. 

painting of baby in womb and woman's breast above

Louise Bourgeois, The Reticent Child, 2005, Lithograph in colours with embossing, on wove, 12 x 8 cm 

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist. Private collection, Italy)

Robert Mapplethorpe and Irving Penn are two of the photographers imbuing a surreal narrative on breasts in the third room, alongside fashion photographers’ subversion of traditional realities, while the fourth room looks at those who deconstruct breasts. Here, Louise Bourgeois, amongst others, bring a sense of humour to the conversation around women’s bodies. In the fifth room, Laure Prouvost’s moving film, Four For See Beauties, plays out, recalling the crucial role of breasts in human life.

‘Considering breasts, as a universal theme that goes back to prehistoric times, it was a challenge to decide which periods to cover in the exhibition,’ Pasti adds. ‘But from my curatorial perspective, I predominantly examined works from modern times creating an intimate exchange between different media such as painting, sculpture, photography and video.’ 

‘Breasts’ is at the ACP Palazzo from 18 April - 24 November 2024

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The Venice Art Biennale 2024 will be open to the public from 20 April to 24 November

acp-palazzofranchetti.com

breasts in art

Masami Teraoka, Breast on Hollywood Hills Installation Project, 1970, Coloured pencil on paper, 30 x 30 cm 

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist. Courtesy of Catherine Clark Gallery, San Francisco)

photograph of woman breastfeeding children

Laure Prouvost, Four For See Beauties, 2022 

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist. © Laure Prouvost; Courtesy Lisson Gallery)

Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers, viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels.