Biography
Harry Alexandre Schunke, (later Harry Shunk), met Hungarian János Kender in Paris. They would become life and work partners. In 1957, they met the gallerist Iris Clert, a reference for the Nouveaux Réalistes, and they began to follow the exhibitions and performances of the group (Klein, Arman, Spoerri, Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle, Villeglé, Hains amongst others). At the end of the 1960s, the duo moved to New York where they entered the highly experimental art scene that featured Warhol, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Baldessarri, Kusama and many others. There, Shunk-Kender documented not just the artists’ works and performances, but also moments from their private lives. Their partnership came to an end in 1973 when Kender turned away from photography. Shunk, however, continued to work independently until the end of his life.