citylikeyou — Upstate — New York by Jason Koxvold

New York / Place

When I first moved to New York, enamoured by its parks and museums and design firms and restaurants and bars, I never imagined that there could be much more to its geography than that. How wrong I was. My first drive across the George Washington Bridge was jaw-dropping - the cliffs of New Jersey are astonishingly tall, covered in a dense thicket of trees. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Drive up 87 to the Catskills or the Adirondacks and you’ll witness the Hudson River winding its way through spectacular scenery and unforgiving seasons. Now I can’t get enough; just two hours up the road, it’s like the city never existed. Perfect recuperation after a long week.

Address
Upstate, North of New York, New York, United States

Photographer Artist

Current city: New York

koxvold.com

Jason Koxvold is a creative director at StrawberryFrog, artist, and co-founder of Renegade Pencils, an organisation that helps give children access to a creative education. His work has been exhibited at MoMA, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, RESFEST, SXSW and the Los Angeles Film Festival. He has held creative workshops in Singapore; glued reflective balls to interns in San Francisco; spent hundreds of hours photographing landfills in Tokyo; driven an ambulance across Europe and Central Asia to raise money to build schools; raced motorcycles in the Scottish grand prix series; been interviewed by the Russian FSB in a holding cell in the Arctic Circle, and by the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Kentucky.

More Places in New York 452

New York / Bridge

Always in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, is the most direct route for a bike ride into the city from my place. This is a kind of alcove and lookout point that also reminds me I’m about to reach the top of the climb. I guess I kind of like the series of light bulbs and ornate rivets and metal work, the kinds things you really don’t see from a distance.

New York / Shop

Home of Casa Bosques chocolates, to purchase directly at the studio. By appointment only.

New York / Area

As Jim Jarmusch put it in the documentary Blank City, the address is roughly between Bowery, Avenue B, 14th Street and Houston. This area of the city is steeped in art, film, and music history; so many hugely influential artists, film makers, and musicians still live and work here. For such a small area, I think it's had more concentrated influence on contemporary art and culture than anywhere else.

New York / Food Store

The Family Store is the best Mediterranean food you can get in New York City. That is all.

New York / Shop

The operators of the Peter Pan bakery make the best donuts I've ever tasted. This place is charming to its core. Decor and presentation: circa 1971 & virtually unchanged since.