754, Fith Avenue 2013

Patrick Pietropoli painted "754, Fifth Avenue" with what looks like oils in muted tones, really capturing a New York moment. The grays and browns give it this nostalgic feel, like a memory fading around the edges. Look at the way he's built up the layers of paint on the buildings and the street, you can see the texture of the brushstrokes. It gives everything a kind of gritty realism, doesn't it? I'm drawn to how he's handled the figures. They're there, but they’re also kind of ghosts. The steam rising from the street feels almost like an exhale, and it reminds me of Edward Hopper, especially the urban loneliness. But Pietropoli’s got his own thing going on, a sort of poetic documentary style. I love that art can be this ongoing conversation across time, each artist adding their own voice to the mix. It’s less about answers and more about the questions we keep asking.