Gowanus Taxis

Oil on linen
24” x 36”
$4200

This taxi depot on rapidly changing 4th Avenue in Gowanus, Brooklyn, was just a couple of blocks from my former studio. One of its major appeals was all that vibrant yellow contrasting brightly against the large expanse of sky. The garage and the storage building hulking over it create massive shapes between the sky and street, and the bustle of yellow taxis seem to anchor everything together.

After the worst of the covid pandemic, I learned that the family-owned garage, founded over 25 years ago and named after the founder’s wife, was to close. With the advent of app-driven car services, business had been tough, but then when covid-19 struck it was devastating - several of their drivers were lost to the virus, many were too afraid to return to work. Long story short, the property was sold to a residential real estate developer. The lot is now a construction site.