Dennis Chalkin

Visual Artist / Photography

For 50 years, Dennis Chalkin has transformed chaos and monotony into gripping, decisively-composed images.

Through his discerning lens, Chalkin frames a singularly unique body of work, a gritty point of view, and a poignant commentary on the fortuitous and coincidental–and often invisible–minor miracles that comprise the daily world around us.

Chalkin studied drawing, painting, and photography at The Cooper Union under the tutelage of preeminent artists including Diane Arbus and Jay Maisel. Upon graduating in 1969, he worked as a freelance news photographer for the New York Times. His work has appeared in the newspaper and on the cover and pages of The New York Times Magazine.

In the ensuing years, Chalkin’s work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal and on the cover and pages of Time magazine, Business Week, Money Magazine, and Audience Magazine. Other commercial clients have included:

Transportation-related brands: Cadillac, Saab, Volkswagen, Audi, Land Rover, Hertz, Eastern Airlines, Piper Aircraft, and Gulfstream Aerospace.
Technology brands: Kodak, Nikon, IBM, Sony, Polaroid, Mitsubishi Electronics, Bell Atlantic, and Maxell Audio and Video.
Household-name brands: Ovaltine, Jell-O, Swanson, Hasbro, Domino Sugar, Polaner, Crest, Bombay Gin, Johnny Walker, Miller Lite, Crown Royal, Elephant Beer, and Saverin Coffee.
Renowned organizations such as the New York Mets, Atlantic Records, Bank of New York, and WABC Eyewitness News.
Acclaimed and compelling public figures including Coretta Scott King, George H. W. Bush, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Magic Johnson, Phil Simms, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, Isiah Thomas, Claes Oldenburg, Dom DeLuise, Muddy Waters, George Benson, Ben E. King, Costa-Gavras, Sissy Spacek, Geena Davis, Don Imus and David Steinberg.

While Chalkin’s professional focus has been on his commercial work, his passion has always been making art photos. DennisChalkin.com debuts with the mission of broadly sharing an expansive body of captivating and powerful artwork for the first time.