Rainy Corner in SoHo 

Vincent Giarrano captured this wet street scene in his painting “Rainy Corner in SoHo”. Giarrano’s work often presents the contemporary urban experience. The image here echoes the flâneur tradition in painting; a study of city life that grew out of nineteenth century Parisian culture. But here, in contrast, it is the democratizing effect of a rainy day in New York that Giarrano renders. The umbrellas become a kind of uniform that obscures class and identity while the figures are caught between shelter and exposure to the elements. They negotiate the space between each other, the crosswalk, and storefronts. A sense of motion is palpable. One can almost hear the splash of water, feel the dampness in the air, and the cool breeze, the light refracting off wet surfaces. Giarrano transforms an ordinary moment into a shared experience, inviting us to contemplate the collective rhythm of urban existence.