Tag Archives: pastel

Pictures of Newark

  January 11, 2016 , ,

As a proud, lifelong Newarker, I’ve spent much of the past few years painting and photographing my changing city. Pictures features a selection of my work, complemented by Mussorgsky’s seminal composition: Pictures at an Exhibition. Five movements out of an original fifteen are selected, each of which represents the feel of a certain part of Newark. The following five locations are featured:

THE PASSAIC RIVER – Promenade (1)
ESSEX COUNTY JAIL – With the Dead in the Language of Death (13)
MOUNT PLEASANT CEMETERY – Promenade (8)
DOWNTOWN NEWARK – Two Jews: One Rich and One Poor (10)
PORT NEWARK – Promenade (3)

Curious about the history of the Essex County Jail? Explore this interactive exhibit.

 

Craneway St.
Craneway St.
Downtown Newark
Downtown Newark
The Chimney Falls - 2008
The Chimney Falls – 2008
Waiting for Demolition
Waiting for Demolition
Roman Ruins
Roman Ruins
City in Autumn
City in Autumn
Big Nation, Big Tires
Big Nation, Big Tires
Sunset on the Passaic
Sunset on the Passaic
Corbin St.
Corbin St.
This Way to Freedom
This Way to Freedom
Symmetry
Symmetry
Port Newark
Port Newark
Old Industry
Old Industry
Pulaski Skyway
Pulaski Skyway
Newark Broad Street Station
Newark Broad Street Station
After Hours
After Hours
Waiting for Demolition
Waiting for Demolition
Drawing by Myles Zhang
Drawing by Myles Zhang
Essex County Jail
Essex County Jail
A Sense of Scale
A Sense of Scale
Essex County Jail
Essex County Jail
Essex County Jail
Essex County Jail
Rusting Barge
Rusting Barge
Gulf Station
Gulf Station
Industrial Zone
Industrial Zone

 Featured work from the above film

Popup Park

  October 19, 2014 ,

Situated in front of New York City’s Flatiron Building is a triangular spit of land bordered by three major streets, Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and 23rd. The currently underutilized space could become a vibrant public square. Such a park should reflect the vitality and dynamism of its neighborhood. Thousands of pedestrians pass through this highly visible intersection daily.

Popup Park creates a mixed use public space that adapts to its many users. Narrow metal panels measuring three by five meters roll out of a wedge-shaped storage container. Each panel serves a different function: bleachers, benches, bookshelf, public mural, basketball hoop, etc. When in use, the panels are alternated to adapt to multiple uses. When not in use, the panels slide back into their container, leaving an open communal space. Each panel is arranged according to the Fibonacci series or the golden rectangle. This permits a functional and aesthetically pleasing composition to be incorporated into each panel. The square’s periphery is arrayed with trees to shade the communal area and to offer a respite from the hectic concrete jungle.

 

urban park 1

urban park 2

Sketch 1
Sketch 1
Sketch 2
Sketch 2
Sketch 3
Sketch 3

South Bronx

  October 16, 2014 ,

Strolling in the Bronx, one aspect arrests me every time: Homogeneity. Block after block, street after street, a never ending treadmill of bodegas, tenements, hair salons, C-TOWN supermarkets, strip malls, and laundries. I ask myself, “Wasn’t I just here before?” I become an explorer lost wandering the Sahara; I retrace my footsteps.

And then . . .  There is the ceaseless cacophony of Spanish speakers, buses, and autos. The chaotic maze of streets leads me to fantasize walking thru a painting by de Chirico. The copious signage for SHOES, SHIRTS, PIZZA, etc. hints at shabby decadence. The never too distant fast food joint hints at obesity in a quality food desert. The din of distant cars on the Cross Bronx or Major Deegan hint at childhood asthma. I momentarily immerse myself in the urban grid.

After many hours, I spy an elevated subway stop in the far distance. I take the next southbound train back to Manhattan. I must return to the Bronx soon. The outer boroughs beckon.

To read more about my walks in New York, click here.

Marble Hill Home (2662 Kingsbridge Terr)
Marble Hill Home (2662 Kingsbridge Terr)
This home is still occupied (2662 Kingsbridge Terr).
This home is still occupied (2662 Kingsbridge Terr).
Subway Trestle (228th & Broadway)
Subway Trestle (228th & Broadway)
Parking Attendants (232nd & Broadway)
Parking Attendants (232nd & Broadway)
Pedestrians wait for bus (228 & Broadway).
Pedestrians wait for bus (228 & Broadway).
Latino family strolls to Target (Marble Hill Projects).
Latino family strolls to Target (Marble Hill Projects).
Latino couple in South Bronx
Latino couple in South Bronx
Riverdale Home (246th & Cayuga)
Riverdale Home (246th & Cayuga)
Children's Dentist (Kingsbridge & Heath)
Children’s Dentist (Kingsbridge & Heath)
Discounted Gold
Discounted Gold
Communion Dresses
Communion Dresses
Lady wearing shirt reading "Heart Breakers" passes Amiga Fasion.
Lady wearing shirt reading “Heart Breakers” passes Amiga Fasion.
Copious Signage (233rd &Broadway)
Copious Signage (233rd &Broadway)
Tenement Row on Kingsbridge Road
Tenement Row on Kingsbridge Road
King's Pizza (Sedgwick & Kingsbridge)
King’s Pizza (Sedgwick & Kingsbridge)
Garbage Collector
Garbage Collector
Kingsbridge Corner Bodega
Kingsbridge Corner Bodega
Metro Sunday Sidewalk School teaches Biblical stories.
Metro Sunday Sidewalk School teaches Biblical stories.
Broadway & 242: Last Stop
Broadway & 242: Last Stop
Elderly lady crosses Kingsbridge Road.
Elderly lady crosses Kingsbridge Road.
Haircut on Kingsbridge
Haircut on Kingsbridge

New Jersey Meadowlands

  August 20, 2014 ,

The meadowlands, nestled between New York City and Newark, is a strange sort of interstitial zone. It belongs to neither nature nor to man. The grasslands and birds of nature are abundant. Yet, so are the derelict factories and warehouses of yesteryear. The unwanted detritus of civilization is cast off into the meadowlands, ranging from garbage to industry.

Through this region of indeterminate identity pass millions of commuters on their way to and from work. Many look out the windows of passing trains, planes, and cars. Yet few care to observe the lapping tides and bizarre beauty of this unwanted strip of land. The views below are drawn from memory. They show various scenes from my daily train ride on NJ Transit between Newark Broad Street and Hoboken Terminal.

Old Industry
Old Industry
The Journey
Shell Oil Monopoly
Shell Oil Monopoly
Power Generators
Power Generators
NJ Meadowlands
NJ Meadowlands
City in Autumn
City in Autumn
Industrial Zone
Industrial Zone
Hackensack River
Hackensack River
Hackensack River
Hackensack River
meadowlands 10
Power Generators
Power Generators
Industial Beachhead
Industial Beachhead
Factory Yard
Factory Yard
Railroad Station
Railroad Station
Overhead Power Lines
Overhead Power Lines
Sunset on the Passaic
Sunset on the Passaic
Jersey City Factories
Jersey City Factories
Buried Treasure
Buried Treasure
Meadowlands
Meadowlands
After Hours
After Hours
Premonition of a City
Premonition of a City
meadowlands 7