Lower Manhattan Spaces, an exhibition of five, large-scale abstract paintings, presented by chashama, was created especially for the lobby at 45 Broadway by New York-based artist and commercial real estate executive Suzanne Sunshine. The paintings are in many ways emblematic of the merging the artist's main passions: art, philanthropy and real estate.

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In keeping with her philanthropic bent, Sunshine will donate ten percent of the proceeds from any exhibit sales to Poets & Writers, a literary nonprofit, which she helped relocate to Lower Manhattan. 

Artist and art historian Adrienne Farb believes that Sunshine's "dual sense of artistic and humanitarian engagement" as well as her deep “knowledge of architectural spaces and structures propel her innate understanding of the canvas shape…In witnessing the pictorial space of her canvases, we ourselves become part of a larger more universal and open-ended space. The paintings envelope us, both by their scale and by their intensity. They extend beyond the shapes of the canvases and fill the room. They are at once powerful, delicate, and very determined.”

These paintings, Farb insists, “demand multiple viewings to reveal [their] intricacies and complexities. Sunshine creates forms that move and bend, appear and disappear. Her paintings feel essential and infinite.”

About chashama:

chashama partners with property owners to activate unused real estate for artists to develop, create and present. Since 1995, chashama has revitalized over 80 properties, providing invaluable opportunities to more than 12,000 artists. chashama empowers artists at any stage of their career with affordable space to live, create and present. chashama also brings vibrant, artistic programming to audiences of all ages and backgrounds by annually presenting over 130 free, public events to diverse neighborhoods throughout  New York City.

About Poets & Writers
Founded in 1970, Poets & Writers is the nation’s largest nonprofit literary organization serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers.  The organization’s work is rooted in the belief that literature is vital to sustaining a vibrant culture and focuses on nurturing literature’s source: creative writers.  Its mission is to foster the professional development of poets and writers, to promote communication throughout the literary community, and to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public.