COGSWELL REALTY
New York City Parks
This exhibition presents the work of two local artists working in realism, with a focus on landscapes and nature. These paintings depict well-known New York City parks, such as Washington Square Park, painted by both artists. Nick Savides draws inspiration from walks through the city, capturing the interplay of nature, architecture, and people within familiar urban parks. His paintings reflect moments of transition and renewal, exploring how the built and natural environments shape one another. Bonnie Steinsnyder’s multi-panel urban landscapes celebrate the balance between manicured nature and architectural structure, transforming scenes of civic leisure into contemporary altarpieces that honor the joy of urban togetherness. Her use of decorative borders, constructed frames, and embedded objects creates a tangible link between the viewer and the painted world. Both artists live in Brooklyn and share a deep engagement with the city’s parks as spaces where nature, architecture, and human presence converge in moments of quiet beauty and connection.
CLIENT: COGSWELL REALTY GROUP
PROJECT: 215 West 125th Street Lobby
New York, NY
ROLE: Curator of Rotating Art Loan Program
DATE: 2006 – Ongoing
215 West 125th is a class A office building in the heart of Harlem. The loan exhibition program was established over 12 years ago as a way of bringing life to the formal lobby space, providing an amenity of tenants and visitors and providing artists an opportunity for greater visibility and the potential for acquisition. The exhibitions change every 6 months to 1 year and include three to five artists per rotation.
CRG is committed to showing emerging artists and those who either live and work in the Harlem Community or capture the richness of the area through their art. The themes of the show have been varied to include: the rich history of Negro League Baseball, Jazz, and currently New York cityscapes.
PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS
New York Cityscapes
This exhibition presents the work of local artists painting New York City landscapes. These artists live in and work between the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens, painting the familiar rooftops and industrial landscapes from their day-to-day experience, with an emphasis on the changes that the city is going through, both from the natural world and from ongoing construction. Gwyneth Leech's eight paintings show the evolution of the city through the view of the Midtown skyline between 2018 and 2023. In contrast to Leech's work, Valeri Larko's paintings focus on the interaction of the natural world with the urban landscapes of the Bronx: how industry interacts with the river and daylight creates strong shadows against the railway tracks. Sharon Florin’s paintings depict perspectives of cityscapes created through reflections on buildings throughout the city. Together these three artists give unique perspectives on the ever-changing landscape of New York City.
