Martin Wong moved from California to New York in 1978 and began painting the neighborhoods of downtown Manhattan. This work shows an abandoned lot near the intersection of Stanton and Forsyth Street in the Lower East Side. Martin painted himself into the picture on the lower left, and included on the lower right a portrait of his romantic partner Miguel Piñero, the Nuyorican playwright and poet. Martin died in 1999 after a long battle with AIDS and I never got to meet him, but I think of him every time I visit the Lower East Side.
–Phillip Y. Zhang, Associate Director, Department of Finance