New York of the Future c. 1925

Abraham Walkowitz made this drawing with charcoal, smudging and hatching to create a vision of the ‘New York of the Future’. Look at how the sharp, jagged lines build up the forms of the buildings. I imagine Walkowitz, charcoal in hand, almost possessed, trying to capture the frenetic energy of a city on the brink of transformation. Maybe he was thinking about the angular forms of Cubism or Futurism. There's a raw, almost desperate quality to the marks, as if he’s wrestling with the very idea of progress. The way the buildings loom and tilt, it’s like the city is about to take flight, or maybe collapse in on itself. It reminds me of other artists grappling with urban anxieties and utopian dreams. This piece isn’t just a depiction of a place, it’s a record of a mind in motion, trying to make sense of a rapidly changing world. It speaks to the ongoing dialogue between artists, each adding their own voice to the chorus of creativity.