Ubiquitous Hoboken Photographer Kurt Gardiner Closes One Show, Opens Another

HOBOKEN, NJ — Kurt Gardiner has been selling his coasters and photos around Hoboken for several years. A former software developer in New York City, he began staying closer to home in 2019 after a stroke.

Now, he's expanding his operations, selling toys as well. And his art has been featured at Bwe coffee shop in uptown Hoboken this month.

The exhibit follows a month-long run at the Hoboken Historical Museum that ended last month.

Recently, Gardiner also has been selling squishy toys, calling himself Big Kurt Toys. The name is a nod to the former Big Fun toy store in Hoboken, and also a reference to Gardiner's 6-foot-8 stature.

Gardiner used to commute to Manhattan each day. Everything changed on April 24, 2019. After a night of drinking, he woke up and realized he had had a stroke at 52.

"I was drinking that night very heavily," he acknowledged in an earlier interview with Patch. "I woke up at 4:30 a.m. I immediately noticed my right side didn’t work right. I was able to go to the mirror and I was horrified when I saw my face droop. At that point I knew I had a stroke."

Gardiner believes a slew of health issues that include diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as his alcohol consumption, contributed to the stroke. But he had also been under recent stress.

He'd temporarily left his job a few months earlier to help take care of both of his ailing parents.

Gardiner spent a week at Hoboken University Medical Center, where he received rehab until his insurance insisted he move on to a professional rehab clinic.

He began turning his most iconic Hoboken photos into coasters and selling them in places like Bwe coffee shop.

Now his art can be viewed at Bwe Kafé at 1002 Tenth St. until later this month.

Gardiner's work, and others, will also be viewable this weekend during the free Artist Studio Tours (more information is here.)

Find more of Kurt Gardiner's art here.