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New York Valentine 1 by Tom Slaughter

New York Valentine 2 by Tom Slaughter

Greetings from the best city in the world, otherwise known as New York City. While some very few of you might want to debate such a bold proclamation, I'll give you fair warning: With so many amazing 20x200 artists bolstering my position, resistance is futile! The newest recruit to our I <3 New York art army is Tom Slaughter, a kindred spirit that I connected with in January via Tumblr bon mots, and bonded with over Dean & DeLuca cookies when Sara and I paid him (numerous) visits at his über-cool lower Broadway studio.

Tom created New York Valentine 1 and New York Valentine 2 especially for us, and while he accurately describes them as being "a little Stuart Davis and a little Roy Lichtenstein," what they really are is 100% Tom. I say this having had the good fortune of spending a good chunk of time in his aforementioned studio, where his collages, cutouts and drawings (in various stages of completion) are hung, leaned, layered and stacked. We could've limited the number of trips made to Tom's studio, but we had an awfully hard time choosing where to start our collaboration. His wide-ranging, always exuberant oeuvre is overflowing with perfect-for-us imagery, and once we got to talking about the possibilities of different media, well... fuggedaboutit!

Because here's the other thing about Tom: He's awfully charming and fun to hang out with, and his studio—its Polaroid-portrait lined entry and industrial shelves heaving under the weight of art books and ephemera, and its layers of New York City sound and soot seeping in through wide-paned windows—embodies everything I loved about downtown New York City when it overflowed with artists and galleries; when lower Broadway was desolate by early evening, its fabric stores shuttered and its loft-dwelling denizens having a drink or two (or more) just a bit west of there, at Fanelli, or maybe having a snack at one of the many cafes that're now shoe stores. The two of us could talk for hours about all that stuff, and we probably would've without Sara's gentle yet firm guidance towards some clear decisions about Tom's art and our editions.

Which brings us to right now, when I get to present our first two prints by Tom, a couple of Valentines for our fair city, with love from me to you.

— Jen