Metropolis: Paintings of the Contemporary Urban Landscape

This thoughtfully crafted brochure was produced for the exhibition Metropolis at Edward Tyler Nahem. Featuring works by renowned artists such as Ed Ruscha, Julie Mehretu, Huguette Caland, Richard Estes, and Bruce High Quality Foundation, the exhibition captured the city as both an emblem of modernity and a site of critique. The paintings, varying in materials, techniques, and styles, share a cool, detached sensibility, presenting aerial views, architectural fragments, and urban vistas that evoke reflection rather than celebration.  Inspired by Anthony Vidler’s The Architectural Uncanny and its essay “Psychometropolis,” the exhibition framed the urban environment as a memorial of itself, rendered significant through its imagery. Balancing tension, humor, and abstraction, Metropolis elevated the painted cityscape into a rare yet compelling contemporary art genre, inviting viewers to reconsider the urban experience from a reserved, contemplative distance.

Essay by David Ebony

Edited by SNAP Editions

Designed by Mohamed Hassan for SNAP Editions