During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in New York City, contemporary American painter and New York City resident Sonya Sklaroff was searching for hope and inspiration, and decided to do what she knew best: create art. This resulted in her new collection of pieces titled “A Love Letter to New York City.”
She was recently selected to showcase six of these colorful oil on canvas paintings on all 3,500 of LinkNYC’s digital billboards around New York City during the month of April. The six vivid and whimsical paintings of the city that are featured were all completed during the pandemic last year. They are meant to exemplify feelings of hope, promise, joy and renewal even during the dark days of the pandemic. She has also launched a coordinating limited edition book, also titled “A Love Letter To New York City” and has an exhibit with pieces from the collection at the Algonquin Hotel.
“My work has always been connected with New York, it’s where I live, where I work, and where I find my inspiration,” Sklaroff said. “I always try to portray the most authentic version of the city. Not the quintessential views of the skyline but a more personal viewpoint: the side streets, small cafes, little hidden parks, people enjoying their daily lives.”
Seeing the way her city was so deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult for Sklaroff, as it was for so many people, but she never lost hope in her city’s beauty or resilience.
“The pandemic was one of the most tumultuous times in the city, so how could an artist not respond to that?” Sklaroff said. “This series came about because I was always recording my city. These paintings were my love letter to the city that I know so well and I adore.”
When Sklaroff’s work was chosen to be showcased by LinkNYC on its screens throughout the city, she was ecstatic to share her experience and her love through art with the city’s residents.
“It was like having a gallery show with eight million people in attendance each day for two weeks,” Sklaroff said. “I’d see people rushing about without noticing them at all, but others would stop and pause and look. It was gratifying to see my colorful, hopeful views of New York on every street corner in the city.”
Wanting to share even more of her artwork, Sklaroff also put together her corresponding book.
“This book is a compilation of over 100 of my paintings, my drawings and my works on paper of the city, and it’s interspersed with quotes about New York by famous literary and artistic figures such as Dorothy Parker and E.B. White,” Sklaroff said. “The Algonquin contacted me to offer me a show in their famous Oak Room to celebrate my work and to launch this new artist book. The Algonquin has a long history of supporting culture and supporting the arts in New York, so I felt honored to be a part of such history.”
Sklaroff’s own history with creating art has been a lifelong one.
“I can’t remember not making things,” Sklaroff said. “As a kid I used to find rocks on the ground that looked like there were faces on them and I’d make them into little toys. I’d play with bugs and make little clay houses for them, and I was always drawing and painting. I was lucky enough to have a very supportive family who never questioned my intense desire to create, no matter how weird my projects were. I don’t think I chose to be a professional artist; it wasn’t a conscious decision. I think art ultimately chose me; it’s like I didn’t have a choice.”
Now, with the city’s liveliness truly resurfacing, Sklaroff has her eyes set on brighter days ahead.
“I’ve seen New York go through difficult times before and reemerge stronger every time,” Sklaroff said. “This was an excruciating time, but I saw people survive and thrive. Now it’s springtime in the city again; it’s a gorgeous sunny day in the city, and you can feel the energy and the hope. It’s palpable.”
While memories of the early days of the pandemic seem more distant with each passing sunny day, Sklaroff is far from finished documenting her beautiful and resilient city in her work.
“I’m starting a new body of work based on my continued experiences in the city, depicting how people are continuing to move on from the pandemic,” Sklaroff said. “I haven’t decided yet if I’ll be exhibiting this new series late this year or early next year, so I’ll keep you posted!”
For more information about Sklaroff, visit sonyasklaroff.com. To keep up with Sklaroff’s latest updates, follow her on Instagram and Twitter @sonyasklaroff