The Roxy Hotel in New York is now hosting an exhibition of selected photographs, displayed throughout the property, taken by Blondie’s Chris Stein. The Roxy, in partnership with Morrison Hotel Gallery, has chosen eight images from the guitarist’s rich catalog, and one of those on display is one of 20 photographs co-signed by Stein and Debbie Harry. The display is billed as The Roxy x Chris Stein, capturing “the heyday of punk and new wave through Chris Stein’s lens.”
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Stein began taking photographs in 1968, five years before he met and started to work with Harry, leading to the formation of Blondie. Developing his visual acuity during his days as a student at the School of Visual Arts, he went on to capture countless images of the band’s early days and of their working environment on the New York punk and new wave scene, and of its fellow pioneers, such as Joey Ramone and David Byrne. The exhibition, open to the public, launched on December 23 and runs until January 16, 2023. Book your visit here.
‘A great space in my old neighborhood’
“I am pleased to have some of my photographs on display at the Roxy, a great space in my old neighborhood,” says Stein. “I have attended many events there, an interesting intersection of film, music and art. Also want to extend thanks to the Morrison Hotel Gallery for their support and curation.”
Stein published a book of his photography, Point of View, in 2018, and has hosted several previous exhibitions of his work, including Negative – Me, Blondie and the Advent of Punk at Somerset House in London in 2014. This summer, his work was added to an extended run of the immersive The Birth of Punk, staged by the Hall of Punk, in partnership with the Great Frog and the Morrison Hotel Gallery.
Next April, Stein and Harry will publish H.R. Giger: Debbie Harry Metamorphosis: Creating the Visual Concept for KooKoo. The coffee table art book will document Harry’s collaboration with Giger that created the artwork for Harry’s 1981 debut solo album KooKoo.
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