The Change

Argentina-born/Valencia-based international street artist Hyuro (born Tamara Djurovic) was known for large-scale, often faceless figures, performing seemingly mundane or everyday actions at a grand scale and painted in subdued, naturalistic tones that are in compositional conversation with the structures they are painted on. Hyuro stated, in an interview with Juxtapoz Magazine, “In the end, if you don’t show time or you don’t show faces, you give more space to the viewer to finish the piece in their own mind, within their own beliefs. It doesn’t close off anything for the viewer, it doesn’t have to be this person. It keeps it open to interpretation. I just give my contribution to a place, and people can finish the meaning themselves.” In November 2020, just a year after completing this piece in Kingston, Hyuro died of leukemia at the age of 45. O+ feels honored and fortunate to have one of her final works here in Kingston as a gift to our community and in memoriam to her incredible life’s work.

XO

Signature Unknown is a team of two artists: Scott Chasse (New York) and Kenley Darling (Maine). In their individual studio practices, they each consider folk art to be a big influence on what they make and in how they display their work. Their mural collaboration is an extension of this, referencing traditional patterns from the past: quilt squares, hex signs (Pennsylvania Dutch barn ornaments), mandalas & sacred geometry, and barn quilts. Their murals offer a new context in scale and presentation for familiar forms, combining old and new, familiar and unexpected, to create unique and inclusive works of art for the public arena. For the O+ mural, Signature Unknown created a pattern that included alternating X’s and O’s modifying a common circular pattern.

Secrets of the Wetlands

Hudson Valley artist Annabelle Popa’s mural seeks to draw attention to the threat of over-development on natural habitats in New York. She has painted amphibious and aquatic animals: Leopard Frog, American Eel, Five Lined Skink, Tiger salamander, Red Spotted Newt; and plants: Cattails, Water Lily, mushrooms (‘destroying angel’), and the fungi on the tree up top (Laetiporus cincinnatus).

Robin X

Robin X was painted in collaboration by Kingston based-artists Christina and Michael Fusco. He stated that the theme “X” made them think deeply about the climate change crisis and its potential for mass extinctions. “Normally this makes us think of endangered or rare species, but I wanted the viewer to imagine a world where future generations can only view our common Robin as a fossilized artifact,” Fusco says. “I hope this reminds us all to enjoy the beauty all around, no matter how common or easily overlooked.”

The Rondout Effect

This mural shines a light on the mission of the Hudson River Maritime Museum and focuses on the role the Rondout continues to play in Kingston’s history and culture. Local artist Matthew Pleva has depicted the Rondout Lighthouse (maritime history of the Hudson River), sloop Clearwater (environmental conservation), the Draken Harald Harfagre (traditional boatbuilding techniques) and fishermen to encompass the role the river has played in the life of the city and its residents.

Their Survival Is Our Survival

Brooklyn-based artist Jana Liptak utilized paint to evoke cross-stitch to stunning effect in her mural on the Twaalfskill firehouse. The artist depicted endangered species that live (or lived) in New York. Look for the Karner Blue butterfly, Piping Plover, Tiger Salamander, Regal Fritillary, Houghton’s Goldenrod, Eastern Mud Turtle, Swamp Pink, Atlantic Sturgeon, Prairie Fringed Orchid, Rusty Patched Bumblebee, American Burying Beetle and North Atlantic Right Whale.

Moving Mountains

For Brooklyn-based street artist and motion graphics editor Vince Ballentine, Home is an “outward manifestation of how we exist and where we come from.” Moving Mountains, at the YMCA, deals with generational wisdom and love, displacement, the environment, and is honoring the indigenous experience- particularly that of the Choctaw Nation (part of the artist’s heritage).

We’ve Always Found Our Way Home

Dine (Navajo) and Chicana artist Nanibah Chacon’s cultural heritage and experience inform her work as both a muralist and activist. The New Mexico-based painter has made an homage to the indigenous people that have passed through or continue to live in the Catskills. The woman in the mural uses the proportion of her hand to measure the stars and navigate. The unique patterns correspond to various tribes and indigenous cultures. Plants represent local herbs and fauna, while the infant signifies the continuation of cultural practices through the generation, “Which in essence bind us to home” states Chacon.

In Memory of Adam (Jeff) Mcqueen, Kaireem Meeks Jr., Dante Crump, Jonte Clark, & Jeffrey D’Aguilar

This mural was painted by artist/O+ Alum Jalani Lion, with Donny Mapes, in honor of four local young men who died in a car accident in August 2015. Next to them is a portrait of a fifth young man (the artist’s brother) who died in a separate accident only months before. All were mentors to many in the neighborhood and greater Kingston community. The mural serves as a living memorial and gathering place to remember them.

Flight Sequence

Rochester, NY based muralist Justin Suarez draws inspiration from his work as a handler of birds of prey at an animal sanctuary. For his O+ mural, Suarez depicted the flight sequence of a barn owl, illustrating the brief pauses of its body motions as it moves between tree branches during its nocturnal hunt. Want to spot barn owls in Ulster County? Head to the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge in Wallkill.