new york 01.

43 Mercer St

190 Spring St

60 Mercer St

43 Mercer St

1/7

THE STREETSCAPE

New York City is a vast and layered urban ecosystem. Every paint colour, every brick, every poster, every work of graffiti, every intricately detailed Corinthian column were an intentional choice made by countless different people over a vast time scape. All these choices are woven into the fabric of the changing streetscape we experience today. ‘New York 01 Collection’ invites you to stop and enjoy these nuances.

During the Covid lockdown SoHo experienced an accelerated evolution of the streetscape. First the streets emptied, then they burst at the seams with BLM and equal rights protesters. The protests were peaceful and powerful.

Following the protests were riots. Glass scattered across the street. Police cars set on fire. High-end shop windows smashed. In reaction they built a fortress. Empty shops boarded up. Doors bolted. Chains linked. Stripped back, the shop fronts became a canvas and the streetscape a gallery. The boards intended as a barricade became a surface for art, expression, and graffiti with a powerful message.

Medium: watercolour paint on paper

Original Image Size: 230mm x 300mm

For many New Yorkers rooftops became a refuge during the covid lockdown. There is a brutality to the space. It is designed purely to perform a function. And yet there is a beauty and curiosity in the details and the decay.

Medium: oil pastels and paint on paper

Original Image Size: 1000mm x 760mm