Tony Notarberardino

ACA Galleries is thrilled to present Chelsea Hotel Portraits, the first public exhibition of photographer Tony Notarberardino’s iconic black and white portraits of the extraordinary individuals drawn to The Chelsea Hotel, shot over the course of the past 25 years.

Raised in Melbourne by Italian emigrant parents, Notarberardino arrived at The Chelsea Hotel in 1994, where he still resides today. A New York City landmark built in 1884, the Victorian Gothic building on West 23rd Street was one of the few remaining bohemian refuges in a fast and ever-changing city, and played host to legendary artistic collaborations, boundary-breaking performances, and so much more.

The unique characters that both lived in and frequented the hotel inspired Notarberardino to begin capturing portraits. The photographer recounts the moment the series came to life: “At 4 a.m. 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.”

Notarberandino’s large format black-and-white portraits of the rich visual cast of characters that passed through the hotel’s doors daily continue to be captured on his vintage 1960s Toyo-View 810GII in the hallway of his apartment, the former residence of the Australian artist Vali Myers. Featuring counter cultural icons to the lesser known, the series stands as a definitive document of the people who made the landmark so unique, leaving audiences with a last glimpse of the romance of The Chelsea Hotel.

Notarberardino has photographed over 1,500 subjects, including: Arthur C. Clarke, Dee Dee Ramone, Elias Jose Reranos, Abel Ferrara, Storme Delarverie, Victor Bockris, Rose Wood, Steven Baldwin, Ava Vincent, Debbie Harry, Frank Roth, Arnold Weinstein, Jessica the Drag Queen, Ron Jeremy, Amanda Lepore, Shalom Harlow, Peter Sarsgaard, Suzanne Bartsch, Grace Jones, Sam Shepard, Selinie Luna, Ira Cohen, Lola Schnabel, Dirty Martini, Maria Beatty, Bruce Levingston, and Stanley Bard.