Art project
New York Stroke
An art project exploring how to capture the essential and aesthetic of New York — ultimately settling into capturing Manhattan (and outer boroughs) in a single stroke, like the Zen “ensō”.
Also known as Enxo · ink and cut paper on kozo · editions numbered and verified
The form
Ensō — the single-stroke circle
The ensō is a traditional Japanese Zen calligraphy: a circle drawn in one stroke, in one breath, and never corrected.
It is a meditation on imperfection, completeness, and incompleteness — the whole gesture visible in the mark, including where the hand wavered.
The subject
New York City
The city that never sleeps. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
A global center of art, finance, people, cuisine. Thirty million people, countless intersections and communities.
How do you capture the essence of New York as simply as possible?
The mark
Hanko — the mark of authenticity
The hanko is the traditional Japanese seal used to validate authenticity: art, contracts, anything that matters.
Ours carries the studio (xandao), the artist (xaerial), and the project (enxo). The space left open on the right holds the edition number — each piece signed into its own place in the catalogue.
The ground
Kozo — handmade natural-fiber paper
Every piece is made on handmade kozo paper — washi, pulled by hand using traditional Japanese technique from mulberry bark and other natural fibers.
We tested more than sixty papers to land on a palette that carries the rest of the project: white, natural, black, red, gold, silver.
The technique
Découpage — one stroke of a blade
Découpage cuts paper and glues it onto other paper, often over gold foil. Matisse made it famous with his cut-outs.
Here the ensō is cut, not drawn: a single stroke of a blade traces the shape of Manhattan, then lands on another sheet. Depth and texture that ink alone cannot reach, sitting alongside the traditional ink pieces.
The research
Inline skate — a human brush
To feel the contours of the island, I skated the whole perimeter of Manhattan, staying as close to the shore as the city allowed — which was not always very close.
Ten hours, a few breaks, forty-two miles. Start at 34th Street, up the East Side through Harlem to Inwood, back down the West Side Highway, around Lower Manhattan, home.
The line in the art is the line under the wheels.
Wearable
xandao hoodie, New York edition
The Manhattan ensō as something you wear. Made in Turkey from 100% organic cotton, reversible, magnetic buttons, a golden map of New York in the inner lining, and a silver EMF-shielding pocket.
Limited inventory, inquire: [email protected].
The gallery
Editions and catalogue raisonné
Every edition is numbered inside the hanko stamp and paired with an NFT digital twin, which both proves authenticity and keeps the catalogue honest: no two pieces share the same combination of paper, ensō color, style, and detail.
All forty-eight editions, at full resolution.
Inquire
Commissions and exhibits
The forty-eight editions are made; commissions are open for what comes next. If you want to talk about a custom piece, a joint exhibit, or the project generally, write to me.
About xandao
A collaborative journey to help humanity live healthier and happier — across mind and body, environment and community, and spirit.
About xaerial
A New York City based artist working the tension between opposites: art and technology, aesthetic and essential, physical and metaphysical, east and west, traditional and contemporary — across spray paint on canvas, ink on kozo paper, and digital.