The first-ever county-wide mural festival hosted in New York State will be happening in Livingston County this summer. Livingston County Economic Development is pleased to announce LivCo Walls Mural Festival will bring nine international artists to the region to paint large-scale murals in each of the nine historic villages of Livingston County during the month of July. Livingston County is creating something that has not existed before, introducing public art county-wide to villages that are experiencing murals for the first time ever. The nine world-class muralists who were competitively selected to install these murals are:
Ivan Roque – Ivan J. Roque is a Cuban-American artist from Miami, Florida with a passion for the concepts of birth, death, time, renewal and social dynamics. He has a Bachelor’s of Art degree in Visual Arts and is primarily a spray paint and acrylic artist that has been doing murals internationally since 2010. Roque will be painting in the Village of Avon.
Tim Parsley – Tim Parsley is a public artist, educator, and professor of studio art at the University of Saint Francis teaching courses in mural painting and public art. He has created numerous largescale murals, nationally and internationally and utilizes references from American history in his work. Parsley will be painting in the Village of Caledonia.
Arlin Graff – Arlin Graff is Brazilian, with a very distinct style that gives life to his abstract creations which seem to be emerging from a digital work. Graff’s work represents a type of deconstructionism, inspired by his childhood and his art can be found all over the globe, from Brazil to France. Graff will be painting in the Village of Dansville.
KEY DETAIL – Internationally renowned KEY DETAIL is a husband-wife team. Andrei Krautsou and Julia Yu-Baba are mural artists who also work with paintings and illustrations, creating mural art for more than twenty years. They travel with their two young children, Max and Andy. KEY DETAIL will be painting in the Village of Geneseo.
Kacy Jackson – A Louisville native, Kacy Jackson is best known for his brightly colored murals around Louisville, Kentucky, including one of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. He launched his own business, The Art of Kacy, in 2017. Jackson will be painting in the Village of Leicester.
Abigail Penfold – Abigail Penfold is a working artist/painter from East Aurora, New York who primarily uses acrylics and oils. She received a B.F.A. concentrating in painting and drawing from SUNY Plattsburgh and spent many years in California working for a trompe l’oeil mural painter while developing her own murals and canvas pieces. Penfold will be painting in the Village of Lima.
Justin Suarez – Born on a family farm in upstate New York, Justin Suarez is an artist who brings together the rural and the urban. Celebrating wildlife, he paints flora and fauna flawlessly over concrete and brick. With over 18 years of experience, he is able to capture the majesty of the natural world through his explosive graphics and remarkable technique. Suarez will be painting in the Village of Livonia.
Ouizi – Louise Jones aka Ouizi (née Chen), was born and raised in Santa Monica, California and is best known for her large-scale floral mural installations, often depicting site-specific plants and animals. Her techniques are informed by her education in drawing and printmaking, as well as an early introduction to Georgia O’Keeffe. Ouizi will be painting in the Village of Mount Morris.
Matthew Mederer – A self-taught artist, Matthew Mederer, has been pushing boundaries and promoting original ideas through his artwork for over 20 years. His depth and breadth of styles, ranging from graffiti to realism, has helped him realize an original body of work with a signature style combining realism and optical illusions. Mederer will be painting in the Village of Nunda.
“We are investing in quality of life and quality of place in Livingston County,” says Downtown Coordinator, Louise Wadsworth. “This project is all about talent and highlighting our incredible communities, making us the place of choice for people and business development, ” says Wadsworth. These murals will contribute to the growing concentration of public artwork within our region as part of the Livingston County Inspirations Trail.
Each mural will be unveiled at a festival, one in each of the nine villages, over the course of three weekends. “We see this festival as an opportunity for people who have never visited the region before to experience something new and exciting,” says Melissa Hughes, Livingston County Director of Tourism. The mission of the Inspirations Trail is to enhance and promote public art throughout Livingston County and the Genesee River Valley. “Take the opportunity to explore our county’s parks and trails, arts and culture, dining and craft beverage scene, and historical assets while visiting for the mural festival,” says Hughes. The nine murals will be a visual part of each village, an icon that people will recognize for years to come.
For more information on the LivCo Walls muralists and their past artwork as well as information on festival events and mural locations in each village, visit livcowalls.com or contact Livingston County Economic Development at 585-243-7124.
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