Two years ago, Pajtim Osmanaj moved to New York from Kosovo after working toward a degree in fine art. To pay his bills, he took a job in construction laying tile. By happenstance, earlier this year, he ended up working at 560 West 24th Street, a boutique condominium in West Chelsea near the High Line. Surrounded by art galleries, in the heart of New York’s contemporary art scene, he couldn’t help expressing himself.

“It was like inspiration for me,” said Mr. Osmanaj, 25, who speaks limited English. Using down time on the job, he said, he decided, “I’m going to do my art.”

To the bemusement and befuddlement of fellow workers, Mr. Osmanaj turned the construction site into his canvas. After hours and during lunch breaks, he painted intricate murals in the stairwells, crafted sculptures out of concrete and transformed trash containers into artistic statements. All but one of the paintings have since been removed or entombed within the walls of the development, now that the building is nearly complete.

While the building was under construction, tortured faces dripped out of an exposed pipe against a cinder block wall on the ground floor. A mural in an unfinished hallway depicted birds taking flight out of the top of a head or a mind, cracked open like a jewelry box. A Jeff Koons-inspired cat sculpture, crafted out of concrete, peered over a black wall toward the Gagosian Gallery across from the construction site.