Red Grooms
The Flatiron Building
1995
45”x26”
Color Etching
Purchased with funding from the State of New York. Percent of Art Program, 2001.

I’m sure a majority of us frequently pass by the Flatiron on our way to Baruch. This piece by Red Grooms features a vibrant and textured depiction of the building wedged between the busy avenues of Broadway “BWAY” and 5th Avenue “5AVE”. Bright yellow taxis, red tour busses, coaches and limos densely cover the avenues in this two-point perspective. The horizon line is distant, giving depth to the vehicles and neighboring buildings slowly shrinking into the background. Animated pedestrians cross street, one in particular dawning roller blades, which was a timely trend for the ‘90s when this piece was created. A gradient sky of red, orange, pink, and yellow surround the Flatiron with gestural two-toned clouds. The very top of the Flatiron Building breaks the white rectangular frame, emphasizing its height and prominence. I always find myself craning my neck and admiring the height of Flatiron, and trying to wrap my head around how such a slim building can have such dominance and appear split the avenues in two. Currently living and working in NYC, Grooms is primarily known for this multi-media work where his illustrations fuse with three-dimensional sculpture-like scenes called “sculpto-pictoramas”. Grooms has been depicting New York City since 1962, and has become an ongoing theme of his work.

Written by Jess DeAngelis, graduate student in the Arts Administration program at Baruch.