Looking Out Looking Up

Manhattan-based artist Gwyneth Leech has been making oil paintings of architecture and building construction in Midtown ever since a tower went up outside her Garment District art studio window in 2015. This collection comprises streetscapes and rooftop views close to home: from her tenement on West 47th Street and around Hell’s Kitchen, from the same studio on West 39th Street, to the lights and bustle of Times Square which she regards as her own backyard. Especially featured is the renovation of 1 Times Square, AKA the New Year’s Eve ball drop building.

At the heart of the collection is a portrait of Clinton Community garden on West 48th Street, burgeoning with vegetation. A slice of tenement construction in the background underscores how the city never stops changing.

Looking Out, Looking Up is currently on view at the Kaufman Arcade Space for Public Art, 132 West 36th Street in New York City, April 8th - June 28th 2025.