The 11-story, eight-apartment development at 560 West 24th Street is being built with the serious art collector in mind. When complete, it will have reinforced living room walls and a ground floor art gallery. It will also hide a collection of creations by a construction worker that will remain concealed under its pristine tiled walls and painted stairways. Pajtim Osmanaj has gained a reputation around the site of Adam Gordon and Tavros's boutique development as "the artist." "He's like our own personal Banksy," a worker on site told the Times.
For the last few months, Osmanaj, a stranger to the construction world with a background in fine arts, has been using the unfinished building as a canvas in his off time. So long as his creative endeavors didn't interfere with his work, Osmanaj's bosses turned a blind eye. "Besides," the Times notes, "stumbling upon a purple cat in an unfinished apartment or a flock of birds stenciled on a cinder block stairwell was far more interesting than the inappropriate comments and crude little pictures typically found on the walls of construction sites."
Buyers, be aware: if taking down a wall in a year or ten, one of Osmanaj's creations might be behind it.
· Art Hidden Behind a Condos Walls [NYT]
· Condo for Art Collectors Woos Buyers In a Chelsea Gallery [Curbed]
· All 560 West 24th Street coverage [Curbed]
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