Gwyneth Leech: Construction Series
On View February 15 through March 31,2018, at the Kaufman Arcade, 139 West 35th Street/132 West 36th Street, NYC.

This exhibition is presented by the Garment District Alliance.

When a new building began to obliterate her studio’s light and north view Gwyneth Leech began an entirely new project: The Construction Series. First she drew and painted views of that building, begun in 2015. I was there one day when the construction crew and artist waved to one another.

As it neared completion and more work was done inside, out of sight, Leech turned her attention to the near-by Hudson Yards, one of this country’s biggest construction projects. In particular she was intrigued by The Shed, a moveable performance site that tucks into a mixed residential and commercial building, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and built by Sciame LLC, by The Vessel (an apparently wasp nest-inspired folly/park that brings Indian Step Wells to mind) designed by Thomas Heatherwick (sections were crafted in Italy), and by the scale and relationship of the buildings. The construction of another skyscraper on Ninth Avenue, One Manhattan West, utilizing the relatively new and still rarely used concrete core method of construction, also captured her interest as did two other midtown projects: 53 West 53rd Street near the Museum of Modern Art, and One Vanderbilt, an office building on 42nd Street adjacent to Grand Central.

One of the visitors to the exhibition was Matin Hekmat, the Structural Project Manager for One Vanderbilt, for Tishman Construction. He toured the show with Leech and others who hung on his every word. Mr. Hekmat noted her amazing attention to detail (including the colorful and self-lifting cranes), and ability to keeping the picture fresh and even. One Vanderbilt is replacing five other buildings and is owned by SL Green, NYC’s largest commercial landlord.

Too bad that I missed an earlier visitor whose Instagram name is girl_on_steel. She was on the One Vanderbilt site as an iron worker.

The exhibition space at the Kaufman Arcade, 139 West 35th Street/132 West 36th Street, NYC, (a lobby pass-through beloved of New Yorkers looking for a shortcut, especially in cold and rainy weather) is open from 6AM to 9 PM on weekdays and 8AM to 6 PM on weekends. Also a major NYC landlord, the Kaufman Organization dates the 1910s when Samuel Kaufman needed space for his garment manufacturing business. Today Steve Kaufman is on the board of the Garment District Alliance.


Link to Leech page:
http://www.susantellergallery.com/cgi/STG_art.pl?artist=leech_g