n 1985, as a very young artist in my twenties, I painted the vista from an Staten Island's hilly North Shore overlooking New York Harbor towards Manhattan. It sold steadily in reproduction for years, even more so after the attacks on 9/11.
Alternately constrained and rent by grief, disbelief, fear, rage and soaring empathy for the victims and their loved ones, none of us knew where to go. One tangible location for many was that spot on Victory Boulevard with its’ unique view of the skyline. People gathered there for days to look, understand, and verify.
"Twenty-Nine Years" is acknowledgment of our communal trauma, its aftermath and collective long view.
Staten Island, NYC's least populated borough, lost over 270 people on September 11th, nearly 80 of them first responders, so many from my immediate neighborhood.
I had concerns about appearing opportunistic or mawkish, but as the creator of "Victory Boulevard at Dawn" painted many years earlier, depicting our altered skyline from the same vantage point was a natural progression.