Nicholas Sperakis always sought to work near a window. In what was his studio between the 1960s and 1970s, located on The Bowery in Manhattan, he also had a window from which he could observe the life of the neighborhood, with the distance of a spectator. Thus, the American painter, engraver, and draftsman of Greek descent collected in his memory the faces of the people who lived in or frequented the place, and then drew them from memory.

These portraits reflect the search for a style, beginning with fluid lines in compositions where emptiness and subtle lines take center stage, until reaching a pictorial and woodcut understanding, in which the surface is almost completely occupied, volumes are constructed from sections with different saturations, and the image is built up in layers.

While his studio was located there, the area was plagued by drugs, prostitution, and excessive alcohol consumption, but it was also a popular place for artists, who could find spacious and affordable studios. As is often the case when artists move into depressed areas, The Bowery now has a completely different look; as an example of its transformation, The New Museum, whose building was designed by the renowned Japanese architecture firm SANAA, is now part of the area. However, the neighborhood's past effervescence was so fertile for Nicholas Sperakis that when he was offered a studio in a quieter neighborhood for the same price, he did not want to move in order to continue working on the series that shares its name with this neighborhood.

This stay, initiated at the young age of 20, marked the beginning of a prolific career, during which he received a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship in 1970. His work is part of renowned collections such as those of the MOMA in New York, The British Museum in London, the Museum of Modern Art in Seoul, and the MAMBO in Bogotá, to name a few. He also taught woodcut printing at several institutions, including Columbia University and The New School.

Nicholas Sperakis (1943–2017) played an active role in the US art scene. He was the founder of the neo-expressionist figurative group The Rhino Horn Group, alongside Jay Milder, Benny Andrews, Ken Bowman, Peter Dean, Michael Fauerbach, and Peter Passuntino. From the outset, he was supported by sculptor and collector Cheim Gros and was close to renowned artist Red Grooms. Through his relationship with Colombia, thanks to his partner, the painter Yolanda Mesa, he exhibited in several museums and galleries throughout the country.

Although recognition of his work now seems relegated to a small niche, its potency endures. Between the current restraint in drawing and the excess of conceptualization in contemporary art, ‘ Una ventana en The Bowery’ reminds us the value of spontaneous drawing that navigates the fragility of error, as well as the simple but demanding task of observation close to everyday life. We present the latest ink-on-paper pieces from Yolanda Mesa's archive, belonging to the series produced between 1963 and 1978. These drawings, which emerged from the artist's memory as a spontaneous dictation, were created without prior sketches and have been recently restored.

Throughout his work, urban situations and passersby were present, showing the character of each city where he lived. Nicholas Sperakis spent the last years of his life in Bogotá, always painting and drawing by the window.