Union Square | Four Squares, One Neighborhood

My name is Jordy Koumans. I paint under the name KOJO Art, from my studio in Tilburg. And there's a moment in Union Square in New York that I won't forget.

It was early. The market was just setting up. Crates of vegetables, people with coffee, a man locking up his bike and immediately striking up a conversation with a stranger. Behind him: a glass office building reflecting the morning light. Beside him: a tree whose roots had broken up the sidewalk.

That's Union Square. Not one thing. Never one thing.

And that's precisely why I found it so difficult to paint this district. Not because there was too little to say, but because there was too much. How do you capture a place that is simultaneously a market, a park, a hub, and a stage? How do you translate something that constantly changes shape?

The answer ultimately lay in the structure itself. Four planes. Four voices. No hierarchy.

Why Four Planes?

I've been working with color planes as a language for a while now. Not as decoration, but as a statement. Each plane says something. Each plane feels something. But for Union Square, the choice of four planes wasn't a formal decision – it was an observation.

If you stand in the square and slowly turn around, you see four completely different worlds. The north side: busy, commercial, people in a hurry. The south side: more open, more air, subway entrances spitting people out and swallowing them up. The west side: the park itself, green, a bit out of time. The east side: quieter, residential, a different temperature.

Four directions. Four energies. Four planes. The composition was already there before I even touched a brush.

The Colors Didn't Come From a Color Wheel

I never start with a color palette on paper. I start with a feeling, and then I find the color that best approximates that feeling.

Blue-grey came first. That's the color of Union Square at six in the morning, when the square is still its own. Cool, quiet, a bit undefined. The color of concrete not yet warmed by the sun. When you stand there and there's almost no one around, you feel how vast the square actually is.

Warm orange followed naturally – the opposite. The hustle and bustle of the afternoon, the warmth of people gathering at the market stalls. Orange is not a calm color. It demands attention, it asserts itself. That suits Union Square during the day: you can't be invisible there.

Sand beige is the color of what was already there. The older buildings on the edge of the square, the wear and tear in the pavement, the layers beneath the layers. Every city has a memory. Beige is how I paint that memory – not nostalgic, but present.

Gradient from earthy green to light green – this is the only plane that moves in the work, and that is deliberate. The green refers to the park, but also to the Greenmarket: that weekly return of something organic, something that grows, amidst all that stone and steel. Growth doesn't have a fixed color. Hence the transition.

No hierarchy between the four. Each plane has equal space, equal weight. That's also Union Square: the skater and the banker, the activist and the tourist, they share the same steps without anyone having the last word.

What Rothko Taught Me About Boundaries

Mark Rothko painted color fields that vibrated. Not literally, but your eye couldn't rest on the border between two colors. That border wasn't a line – it was a tension, a breath, something alive.

My borders are different. Sharp. Strict. Geometric. But the tension is still there – not in the transition itself, but in the choice of which colors come next to each other. Blue-grey next to warm orange: that's not harmony. That's a confrontation. Just as early morning and busy afternoon coexist in the same square, without either one yielding.

Rothko taught me that a border between two colors can contain an entire story. I use that lesson, but with crisp lines instead of soft edges. That's the difference between his New York and mine. He painted the emotion of the city. I paint its structure.

The Size Is No Coincidence

20x20 cm. Square. Compact.

Union Square is one of Manhattan's few true squares – surrounded by streets on all four sides, symmetrical, defined. The size of this work is a direct echo of that geometry. Not a rectangle, not a landscape. A square, just like the square itself.

But there's something else. A small work demands proximity. You have to get closer. You can't view it from across the room and think you understand it. That suits Union Square: it's a place you only truly see when you're in the middle of it, not when you just walk by.

The New York Districts Collection: Each District Its Own Language

Union Square | Original is the newest work in the New York Districts collection. But each work in this series has its own logic, its own color palette, its own composition. They are related, but not identical – just as Manhattan's neighborhoods are related but each has its own character.

SoHo | Original is vertical, tense, full of upward energy – the cast-iron facades translated into color. Part of Central Park | Original breathes, has space, lets you go. Chelsea | Original is the most experimental – Chelsea is the art district, and that demands a different language than the rest.

Union Square is the most balanced of the four. Four equal planes, no dominant element. That's also the neighborhood: no one has the last word here.

Union Square Art in Your Interior

A 20x20 cm work is versatile. Small enough for a desk or bookshelf, powerful enough as part of a larger composition. The four color planes do require space around them – let the work breathe, give it an empty wall.

• Solo on a light wall: The geometry speaks for itself, but needs silence around it. An empty wall is not a lack of ideas – it is a choice.
• As part of the series: Combine with other works from the New York Districts collection. Four works, four districts, one city on your wall.
• Workspace or study: The balanced composition – no single plane dominates – makes it a calm yet present companion during work.
• Combine with other collections: Mix with Antra. for color contrast, or with Theros. for a warmer palette.

From my studio in Tilburg, each work is carefully packed and shipped insured – worldwide. Including a certificate of authenticity, signed by me.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Union Square | Original

What does Union Square | Original represent?

Union Square | Original is an abstract geometric painting by Jordy Koumans (KOJO Art, Tilburg) that translates Union Square in New York City into four color planes. Blue-grey represents the cool early morning in the square, warm orange for the lively afternoon, sand beige for the historical layers of the district, and a gradient from earthy green to light green for the park and the weekly Greenmarket. Not a literal representation, but an emotional translation based on personal experience.

What are the dimensions of the work?

Union Square | Original is 20x20 cm, painted with acrylics on canvas. The square format is a deliberate echo of the geometry of Union Square itself – one of the few true squares in Manhattan, surrounded by streets on all four sides.

Who created Union Square | Original?

The work was painted by Jordy Koumans, who paints and sells under the name KOJO Art. Jordy works from his studio in Tilburg, Netherlands, and creates abstract geometric works inspired by cities, architecture, and the tension between order and chaos.

Is the work still available?

Original paintings are unique – there is only one copy. Check the current availability on the product page of Union Square | Original. Want to stay informed about new releases? Sign up for the newsletter or follow @kojo_art_official.

How does this work relate to the rest of the New York Districts collection?

Each work in the New York Districts collection has its own logic and color palette. Union Square | Original is the most balanced in the series – four equal planes, no dominant element. Also check out SoHo | Original, Part of Central Park | Original, and Chelsea | Original.

Which artists inspired this work?

The main source of inspiration is Mark Rothko – not his soft edges, but his philosophy that a border between two colors can contain an entire story. My borders are sharp and geometric, but the tension between the planes is directly inspired by his work. Furthermore, the geometric abstraction of Piet Mondrian plays a role, and above all Union Square itself: the energy, the contrasts, the layers of the neighborhood.

Does the work come framed?

Standard framing options are not currently available for this work. If you would like the work framed, please contact me and I will see what is possible.

How is the work shipped?

Carefully packed and shipped insured from Tilburg, Netherlands. Worldwide. Including a certificate of authenticity, signed by Jordy Koumans. Original paintings are unique and fragile and cannot be returned.

Will there also be a print of Union Square?

That has not been confirmed yet. Follow @kojo_art_official or sign up for the newsletter for updates on new releases and print editions.

Can I see the work in person?

KOJO Art works can be seen at De Nachtzuster and Creatief Koffiecafé Buutvrij in Tilburg. For information about exhibitions, follow social media or contact us via the contact page.

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