Linda Mandel Cucher can almost make out a cityscape in one of her abstract paintings. âThis piece is a little distracting,â she said. âItâs got some elements that could be perhaps a little bit disturbing for people to look at. But on the other hand, itâs a very balanced piece and itâs not unpleasant to look at.â She remembers exactly what she was feeling and thinking when she painted it in the pandemicâs early days. Her daughter in New York inspired her when she said the city that never sleeps, suddenly felt like a ghost town.