Path of Liberty: Among Portraits and Skyscrapers

An evening with incredible artist Daniella Vale in New York City’s Freedom Plaza, where her portraits spoke to the sky before the city arrived.

Some weeks ago, I joined the incredible artist Daniella Vale at Freedom Plaza in New York City, where her exhibition Path of Liberty unfolded as an open-air gallery. The plaza was still quiet — grasses bending in the wind, screens towering with immense portraits, skyscrapers keeping their silent watch. The public would arrive soon, but for that moment, it was only Daniella and me, walking among her work.

She had spent a year gathering these voices, weaving fifty-five lives into light and image. Standing beside her, I photographed not only the artist but also the delicate space between her and the stories she carried: farmers, immigrants, students, dreamers — all larger than life, facing the city with calm strength.

To see Daniella there was to see her talent in its purest form — not only in the scale of her vision, but in the tenderness with which she holds the stories of others. Her gift is to make art that feels both monumental and deeply human, a bridge between the vastness of a city and the intimacy of a single voice.

It was not the hush of a museum, nor the ceremony of an opening night. It was something rarer: an artist in her element, her work breathing against the skyline, her portraits alive with the sound of voices, her presence both fierce and gentle.

Today, Daniella’s interview appears in Pittsburgh City Paper, accompanied by the photographs we made together. Her words move with the same clarity and generosity that filled the plaza that evening.

I am grateful for that time with her — to walk the path she created, to witness the stories she gathered, to feel the weight and lightness of America reflected in those immense portraits under the open sky.

👉 To read the full interview with Daniella, visit Pittsburgh City Paper.