NY, NY No. X 1948

Hedda Sterne created this painting of New York, a city in constant change, using oil on canvas. The scaffold-like architectural structures suggest more than just buildings. They evoke a sense of constant construction, of reaching for something just beyond grasp. Consider the ladder, an ancient symbol that surfaces time and again, from Jacob’s Ladder in the Bible, a pathway between heaven and earth, to its mundane presence in our everyday lives. These linear structures take on a psychological dimension when repeated and intersecting; they create a labyrinth of urban existence. These abstracted forms mirror the way memories and aspirations are built, deconstructed, and rebuilt within us, reflecting a collective, subconscious urge to transcend our earthly bounds. This is how images operate on our psyche: they transcend their own time and place.