Burners

(2006)

In “Burners”, Henry Chalfant presents 40 full-color window-down subway paintings from the early 1980’s. Window-down means underneath the train’s windows. The book is a spiral bound catalog from his show at the Speerstra Gallery, which makes it somewhat fragile. Best viewed on a flat surface. Each page folds out to display a single, digitally enhanced train car in its entirety. We love that each page includes the number of the car. It is a beautiful presentation and every page is a surprise. This unique presentation gives the reader a sense of just how massive the train era was and how overwhelming and epic it was to see one of these giant metal canvases roll into a subway station early in the morning. If you are a student of the 1970s New York City graffiti movement this book demonstrates that although not every graffiti painting is a finished masterpiece, you can still get valuable insights and information from studying all the artworks in graffiti’s 40-year long history.

Author: Henry Chalfant
Publisher: Graff It!
Language: English
Format: Spiral-bound softcover
Size: 30 x 1.1 x 14 cm
Pages: 94
ISBN: 2-914714-58-0

New York Henry Chalfant