A city at two distances

The tall central panel gathers the skyline, while the bridge travels through the composition and out towards its edges. Pale sky gives the dense buildings room to breathe. Below them, long vertical reflections are broken by ribbons of light on the water; small passages of green and blue move through the amber city.

The stepped arrangement follows the rise and fall of the skyline. It gives a large wall an architectural rhythm, while each panel still rewards close looking. The subject is New York; the particular pleasure is moving between the scale of a whole city and the care given to a single window.

In the studio

Before the windows and reflections

The studio photographs begin with broad strips and simple building silhouettes. Later, the same surface holds closely spaced windows, bridge cables and reflections. Max works with the panels illuminated, cutting and layering packing tape on acrylic glass as the city takes shape.

The making-of film

Building the skyline

The making-of film follows this skyline construction. Together with the early photographs and the finished details, it shows how much changes between the first bands of tape and the final view.

Five panels, one composition

The complete artwork is shown in five white illuminated frames. The divisions are part of its physical presence: they separate the panels while the bridge, skyline and waterfront continue across them. For a large wall or an architectural project, the framed view provides a useful starting point for a conversation about scale.