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Add Texture to GoogleIn New York, obsession is an art form in its own right. For Josh Safdie, a filmmaker whose name has become inextricably linked to a certain electric urban tension, the transition from the big screen to the page could not happen without a certain overflow. What was originally intended to be a simple, ordered list of ten landmark films about the metropolis has transformed into a dense, crossed-out, and layered mental map. Titled *Top 10 NYC Films*—though the workshop’s technical documents briefly suggested the more explicit title *Top 100 NYC Films*—this work marks the official entry of the director of *Uncut Gems* and *Good Time* into the world of contemporary printmaking.
A Perfectionist’s Creative Journey
The starting point for this piece, published in 2026, is one of almost academic simplicity: to list ten cinematic masterpieces that capture the soul of New York on a custom-cut piece of blue cardboard. But for Josh Safdie, the exercise in synthesis quickly collided with the reality of his effervescent love of cinema. Unable to limit his selection to just ten titles, the artist let his hand take over the available space. The visual result evokes the tight editing of his own feature films: an accumulation of handwritten notes, nervous insertions, and graphic revisions.
This proliferation creates uncertainty regarding the final tally of the cited works. While Josh Safdie and his publisher readily describe the list as “112 of NYC’s 10 Best Films,” a meticulous count conducted during the work’s presentation in the fall of 2026 revealed 115 titles. Far from being an error, this discrepancy illustrates the organic nature of a work in which each addition seems to call for another, transforming a list of recommendations into a complex artistic object.
An Archaeology of Revision
The production of this print by the Two Palms studio, located in the heart of SoHo, required a highly sophisticated technical process. To recreate the raw, layered appearance of the original, a 20-color screen-printing process was chosen. The imposing format (approximately 99.1 × 112.4 cm) allows viewers to distinguish the multiple layers of corrections that give the piece its richness.
The work is not a simple reproduction of text; it is a study of the materiality of thought. The alternation between matte areas and glossy surfaces aims to faithfully reproduce the various layers of modifications made by Safdie. Three distinct techniques for masking with white corrector are evident: paint applied by hand, glued paper, and a specific crackle paint. These interventions create a visual hierarchy in which the tools used reveal the importance of the films. The titles written in thick Sharpie marker seem to take precedence over those written in fine Micron felt-tip pen, signaling a promotion within the artist’s personal pantheon. Added to this is a three-color highlighting system whose thematic significance remains, by design, an unsolved mystery.
The Essence of the City Off-Screen
For Josh Safdie, the selection does not meet the classic criteria of the cinematic canon or the usual prestigious lists. The artist prioritizes capturing what he calls the essence of New York. It is not so much the filming conditions or the fame of the scenes that matter, but rather a film’s ability to evoke the smell of a neighborhood, the precise topography of a street, or that sense of life continuing to exist outside the frame, in the megacity’s perpetual “off-screen” space.
This sensory approach to cinema is reflected in the artist’s visual journey. A 2007 graduate of Boston University, Josh Safdie cut his teeth as a studio assistant to sculptor Tom Sachs. In *Top 10 NYC Films*, we see the influence of the artisanal, raw, and unpretentious aesthetic that characterizes Sachs’s work. Alongside his career as a filmmaker and his projects with the Red Bucket Films collective, Safdie has always kept one foot in the world of object art, notably by co-founding the Mmuseumm in 2012, an unconventional exhibition space housed in a former freight elevator shaft in Manhattan.
From the Studio to Permanent Collections
Published in a limited edition of just 50 signed copies—for which Safdie used a Staedtler 2B graphite pencil that he deliberately blunted so as not to pierce the paper when signing—the work immediately attracted the interest of institutions. The Whitney Museum of American Art has already added the print to its permanent collection, confirming the documentary and artistic value of this urban cartography.
The official launch took place during a charity event on October 19, 2026, at Christie’s New York. On this occasion, Josh Safdie participated in a public discussion with Dan Nadel, a curator at the Whitney Museum, exploring the connections between his filmmaking practice and his graphic research. Offered at a catalog price of $6,500 USD (approximately €6,000), the work is subject to a waiting list jointly managed by Two Palms and the IFPDA.
Philanthropy is at the heart of this project. All proceeds from the sale of the edition will be donated to the IFPDA (International Fine Print Dealers Association) Foundation. These funds are intended to support the printmaking community by financing museum acquisitions, curatorial fellowships, and institutional exhibitions. A special price of $5,850 USD was also offered to collectors who attended the launch gala, underscoring the artist’s commitment to actively supporting the preservation and dissemination of art on paper.
Through this first official print, Josh Safdie does more than simply list his influences; he offers a subtle self-portrait of a creator haunted by his city. Combining collage, enamel, ink stamps, and hand-painted details, *Top 10 NYC Films* is as much a cinematic archive as it is a piece of contemporary graphic design, where mistakes and erasures become the most sincere expressions of an overflowing passion.
