In the fall, the city commissioned a number of artists to create colorful murals across the city, and those artworks are now brightening the day for all residents of Chelsea.
At the Webster Street underpass of Rte. 1, East Boston artist Felipe Ortiz has embraced the way people will be viewing his work while passing it at different speeds. Ortiz’s subject matter is mostly nature, and primarily migratory birds, with a signature style called “Explosive Nature,” which dynamically elongates the design of his work.
“Explosive Nature is colorful, vibrant, has lots of movement, and It can be informative and playful as I depict an exchange of migratory local fauna in tropical settings.” Ortiz explained. “The style lends itself for large areas with vehicles and pedestrians passing at various speeds.”
His dynamic design has helped transform the underpass that provides a gateway into Chelsea from the Revere Beach Parkway.
On Everett Avenue at the Rte. 1 on-ramp, Sasha Kuznetsova was tapped for a creative approach to beautify the jersey barriers and chainlink fence. She painted in blues and greens to create an ocean bottom along the jersey barriers. For the top, she crafted fish and seaweed in quilted fabric. To delight pedestrians, she also attached a variety of treasures like shells, seaglass and water-worn pebbles inside the voids in the fence.
After a career as a biologist, two years ago Kuznetsova became a freelance artist and illustrator full time with her work gravitating towards nature.
“I love organic shapes and all the colors,” she said.
On Second Street at the Rte. 1 viaduct, Lena McCarthy’s designs celebrate the natural world.
“My vision in creating public art is to be a vehicle for pause, to create a space for people to feel their own softness and heartbeat, and ultimately inspire more connection and joy in the public space.”
Her mural serves as a landmark on a key gateway into the downtown, and her design speaks to local efforts to address excess heat in an abstracted, allegorical form.
At Market del Sol on Addison Street, the Sirxns Crew is a group of female-identified and queer artists. In Chelsea they previously created a mural on Division Street for the rear entrance of North Suffolk Mental Health. Familiar local artists Jenna Feldman, Sury Chavez and Fernanda Lopez are joined by Sara Barrientos, Alison Miller, and Melissa Clarke. Their approach is centered on the interest in socially-engaged public art as expressive art therapists, educators, and activists.
“We believe in the power art holds to enliven spaces and connect people as well as amplify voices heard in community conversations.,” they say. “Approaching our mural making from a mixed media and a site-specific perspective allows us to work in a call and response collaboration with the community.”
With one-on-one engagement with passersby and Mohammed Saleem, the owner of Market del Sol, the artists shared coloring sheets for others to bring color into their own corner of the world.
At Tu Casa Restaurant, at the rear of the building on Division Street at Hawthorne is the latest piece from muralist Liz LaManche. Her creative handprint can be seen throughout Division Street and in Chelsea Square. In 2019 as part of the launch of the Division Street Neighborway, at the
intersection with Hawthorne Street she painted the Electric Chicken on one façade.
LaManche also oversaw the designs executed paint-by-numbers style by the community in a series of art panels and on the rear facade of Tu Casa Restaurant. In 2021, again with Neighborways Design, she provided the design concept and directed installation of roadway murals and creative crosswalks executed in both paint and thermoplastic across four blocks of Division Street.
In 2022, LaManche returned to extend the mural on Tu Casa to wrap around the building.
A series of videos about the latest murals is now available on Chelsea Prospers’ Youtube channel and website. In the videos the artists describe their creative process as photos illustrate the creation from blank canvas to completed artwork
This project was executed by Chelsea Prospers, the City of Chelsea’s initiative for neighborhood vitality.