Jordan Casteel's just-opened show at the New Museum, "Within Reach," includes nearly 40 of the artist's large-scale paintings, from her early portraits of classmates at Yale to recent oils of her students at Rutgers.
But it's the work from her residency at the Studio Museum in Harlem in 2016 and her subsequent "Nights in Harlem" series in 2017 that Harlemites visiting the exhibit will immediately recognize.
Thirty-one-year-old Casteel, who lives in the neighborhood and had her studio there for a time, found her subjects by walking the streets of her home.
Although most of the people in her paintings—based on photographs she took of street vendors, small business owners and neighbors—are in public spaces, the portraits have an intimate feel.
Take a peek here and if you don't recognize the faces, you'll definitely nod knowingly at the places—from streets such as Malcolm X Boulevard and 125th Street to restaurants including Sylvia's and Benyam.
"Within Reach" is up through May 24.
