Winter in New York 2015

Pietropoli Patrick painted "Winter in New York," most likely with oils, and you can tell that he's not aiming for photorealism. The textures in this triptych have a tactile quality to them, like you could run your hand over the surface and feel the city emerging from the canvas. It’s really about the layering, and about how he’s built up the image, scraping some bits away, and leaving other parts quite thick and opaque. Look at how the snow appears as a flurry of white that partially obscures the buildings. See the way the artist has used muted tones - browns, whites, grays - to evoke the somber atmosphere of a winter day. And then, just a few pops of ochre in the taxi cabs to keep you awake. This piece reminds me of Gerhard Richter’s cityscapes, where the subject is present but indistinct, like a memory fading at the edges. It's that feeling of a moment captured, but also, inevitably, slipping away.