Public Art Fund invited 50 emerging New York-based artists to reflect on the current situation as a way to help our communities process the challenges we face together. In different ways, COVID-19 and the renewed urgency over systemic racism that led to protests in our streets and a movement for change have reshaped our day-to-day lives including the ways we interact and experience our city. The exhibition gives a highly visible public platform to artists whose regular creative outlets have been stifled, commissioning them to make new, responsive works of art. Art on the Grid enables the people of New York to reflect, to engage with the city in new ways, and to begin conversations with neighbors, friends, and strangers alike.

Artist's statement:
The painting shows an interior scene of revelry among friends and lovers. The central figure reaches out in a welcoming, serpentine gesture to two embracing figures, their limbs intertwined. Behind them on the lower left side is a tender kiss shared by a couple on a bean bag. With this painting I wanted to summon a sense of closeness and romance in this time without certainties and much isolated self reflection.

For more information about the exhibition, please visit the Public Art Fund's website.