A Toast to Jennifer Kotter

If you have ever transferred trains from the L at Union Square, you know the work of New York photographer Jennifer Kotter. Her MTA Jewels project of Transportation Workers Union, which documents the copper toned tools of MTA workers, lines this long underground connection.

I visited her studio on the TOAST Art Walk in TriBeCa last spring where she displayed her sharp black and white images of her series, Details Below 14th Street. In Details, Kotter captures the rich architectural history of Manhattan by way of beautiful abstraction.

"[My] passion for architecture was unresolved until I began obsessively shooting building facades in my neighborhood after 9/11. This process, both documentary and spiritual, revived my own sense of 'home' with its catalog of personal landmarks," says Kotter.

This project becomes increasingly relevant "due to perils many buildings face in light of urban renewal." Details Below 14th Street is now on view at the Manhattan Borough President's Office Gallery (One Centre St, 19th Floor). Stop by for the opening reception on February 3rd, 5:30-8:30PM.

(Top) Image from "Details Below 14th Street" by Jennifer Kotter

Photograph of "MTA Jewels" by John Barnes.