"Richard Hambleton—New York" opened with a special preview in Milan as Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, Andy Valmorbida, and Giorgio Armani combined forces to bring the work of this pop expressionist to a new city amidst the Fashion Week festivities. “We have been really lucky,” admits Vladimir, “Many had tried to get Richard out of hibernation and persuade him to do a show, but he decided to go with us because we never talked about money. For us it was always about the art.” Hambleton, also known as "the godfather of street art," is considered to be on par with artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

The chic opening at Armani/Teatro was attended by Carine Roitfeld, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Robert Konjic, Giovanna Battaglia, Roberta Armani, Bianca Brandolini d’Adda, Maria Buccellati, Pierre and Andrea Casiraghi, Giuseppe Cipriani, Conrad de Kwiatkowski, Luca del Bono, Lapo Elkann, Fawaz Gruosi, Margherita Missoni, Martina Mondadori, Eugenie and Stavros Niarchos, Clive Owen, Marco Perego, Eva Riccobono, Aby Rosen, Tatiana Santo Domingo, Lola Schnabel, Franca Sozzani, Mario Testino, Francesca Versace, Francesco Vezzoli, and Dasha Zhukova among others. The afterparty followed at Armani Privé celebrating into the wee hours. "Richard Hambleton—New York" runs March 1 – 12 in Milan; if you cannot make it, another Hambleton exhibition is in the works for this autumn in Beijing.

Carine Roitfeld, Robert Konjic, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Giovanna Battaglia photograph © 2010 Guest of a Guest
Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld and Carine Roitfeld photograph © 2010 Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld opens his second exhibit in conjunction with artist Richard Hambleton tonight in collaboration with Andy Valmorbida and Giorgio Armani as part of Milan Fashion Week. This occasion marks the first time that the painter has shown solo in Europe since 1985. The exhibition comprises 45 works, 15 previously unseen, and runs from March 1 – 12 at the Armani/Teatro. Only 30 of the pieces are for sale. At the first show that Vladimir and friends curated for him, "Richard Hambleton—New York," all of the art sold within a few hours; hopefully the Milan show will be a smashing success as well. Watch as Hambleton discusses his evolution as an artist in an interview with CNN.

Richard Hambleton image courtesy of Feedback Ltd.