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Photo by Justin Vaughan
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Photo by Justin Vaughan
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Photo by Justin Vaughan
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During the past two years, Richmond has seen a plethora of new public art in the form of colorful, creative murals from local as well as international artists cover the city because of two main projects: the Richmond Mural Project, headed up by Maryland-based gallery Art Whino; and the RVA Street Art Festival, organized by City Council member Jon Baliles and Richmond artist Ed Trask. The second year of the RVA Street Art Festival saw thousands of people pass through the former GRTC depot in the Fan District over the course of a weekend. Here are five of my favorites from both years of the two projects.
1. Moonshine by the Etam Cru
1011 W. Grace St. This well-executed mural by Polish artists Sainer and Bezt of Etam Cru shows a dreamy Snow White sitting in a jar of strawberry moonshine. It was ranked No. 3 on BuzzFeed.com's list of "Best Street Art in the World 2013." A limited release in December of 100 copies sold out quickly, but unsigned prints are available through Art Whino. etamcru.com
2. Paint Happy by Jonathan Hirsch
101 S. Davis Ave. Local artist Jonathan Hirsch paints pop icon portraits, and he says that the bushy-haired Bob Ross of the PBS show The Joy of Painting seemed to fit the 2013 RVA Street Art Festival: "Paint festival, happy painting man." Hirsch added the trees "after everyone kept commenting on how there were none." He faced the challenge of working on a wall that includes a doorway, but the resulting mural seemed to be a crowd favorite. jonathanhirschart.com
3. Two works by ROA
1501 W. Main St. and 11 S. 18th St. For the Richmond Mural Project in 2012, Belgian artist ROA painted two murals: a bird of prey shot by an arrow on the side of Bellytimber Tavern and another of a stack of three turtles on the back of the former Have a Nice Day Café, both in his distinctive black-and-white style. flickr.com/people/roagraffiti
4. Rust Brue by Mickael Broth
101 S. Davis Ave. When painting this 30-foot by 30-foot mural on the front of the former GRTC depot's administration building for the 2013 RVA Street Art Festival, Broth went beyond the call of duty by adding complex, hand-cut wood elements, turning this into a half mural/half sculpture. Also utilized is the building's flagpole, which he incorporated into his design. mickaelbroth.com
5. Mural by Pose MSK
Canal Walk For the 2012 RVA Street Art Festival, Chicago-based graffiti artist Pose created a pop-art-inspired collage with comic-book elements and advertising logos. A graffiti artist since 1992, he is a member of The Seventh Letter artists collective and the Mad Society Kings (MSK) crew whose work can be found around the world. theseventhletter.com
