The Brill
Building Project
June 17 – July 17, 2014 · 49th & Broadway, New York
Dates
June 17 – July 17, 2014
Hours
Six hours daily · Weekdays
Type
Live Painting · Pop-Up
Artists
Tom Christopher & Oscar Hammerstein III
Location
Brill Building, 49th & Broadway, Times Square
Press
Associated Press · Galerie Tamenaga
About This Project
Thirty days in Times Square.
Two painters. No gallery.
In the summer of 2014, Tom Christopher and Oscar “Andy” Hammerstein III were given the use of a vacant ground-floor storefront in the Brill Building — the legendary building at 49th Street and Broadway where Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Carole King, and a hundred other American songwriters had their offices. For thirty days they turned it into a working studio.
They painted six hours a day, weekdays only, with the windows open to Broadway. They were painting New York — the same subject they had each been working on for years. The difference was the audience. Thousands of pedestrians walked past every day. Some stopped for a few minutes. Some came back. Some watched for an hour. There was no admission, no gallery, no intermediary. Just paint and people.
“The incongruity of a working art studio in the heart of Times Square just stops people. They don’t expect it. And once they stop, they really look.”
Tom Christopher · on the Brill Building Project
The Associated Press covered the project with photography by Kathy Willens, documenting both the work being made and the public watching it being made — which was itself part of the work. Times Square is a place where everything competes for attention. Two painters quietly working was somehow the most interesting thing on the block.
The project was supported by Eric Hadar and Allied Partners, the building’s owner, who provided the space at no charge. Galerie Tamenaga also participated. The Brill Building Project is one of three flagship Lift Trucks initiatives that extended the studio’s reach far beyond Route 22.
Associated Press · July 2014
“A passerby stops to watch artist Tom Christopher, right, who, along with another artist, Andy Hammerstein, has set up a temporary studio in the Brill Building in Times Square in New York, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. The artists, who are known for their New York cityscapes, have been working on the pop installation six hours a day since June 17.”
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Artists
Tom Christopher
Painter & Founder · Lift Trucks Art
Oscar “Andy” Hammerstein III
Painter · New York
Press Coverage
ARTNET NEWS
“Times Square Painters Have City Abuzz” — 2014
PAGE SIX · NEW YORK POST
“Live Painting Studio Attracts Crowds on Broadway” — July 14, 2014
ABC7 New York
“Artists make Times Square construction beautiful” — July 14, 2014ABC7 New York
WASHINGTON EXAMINER · AP WIRE
“Artists Paint in Real Time at NYC Landmark” — July 9, 2014
Associated Press
“Pedestrians watch artists work in NYC storefront” — photography by Kathy Willens, July 2014
Galerie Tamenaga
Featured exhibition participant · Tokyo & New York galleries
Supported By
Eric Hadar & Allied Partners
Building owner · Space provided at no charge
Galerie Tamenaga
Exhibition partner
About the Building
The Brill Building at 1619 Broadway housed the offices of Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Leiber & Stoller, Carole King, and hundreds of American songwriters. In summer 2014, it briefly housed a painting studio instead.
On Camera
Watch the Project
Two videos document the Brill Building Project — the studio setup on Broadway and the work being made in real time, six hours a day, as thousands of New Yorkers walked past.
Video · 2014
The Brill Building Project — Studio at Broadway & 49th
Video · 2014
Tom Christopher & Oscar Hammerstein III — Painting Times Square
Photography & Documentation
8 images · AP Photo/Kathy Willens & archive
Visit Us
The work doesn’t
end with the show.
Tom Christopher’s studio is upstairs. The showroom is open by appointment. The paintings he made during the Brill Building Project are part of a larger body of work available to see in person.
30
Days live-painting Times Square
6 hrs
Daily · Every weekday
~60 min
By car from the city
Free
Always free to visit