All Over Albany

The Vandal in downtown Albany

Sunday afternoon we stopped by the Green-Hudson Parking Garage in downtown Albany to check out the new, not-quite-finished mural there by Nick Walker. (It's now finished, as of Monday morning.)

The work is part of the Capital Walls campaign, a collaboration between the Albany Parking Authority, Albany Center Gallery, and Albany Barn. Press release blurbage:

Walker's mural, titled "Love Goes On," represents the universal message of love having the capability to be the everlasting entity in a world of fleeting things and moments. His mural is asking us to be thankful for love and to allow it to last. The red, white, black and gray mural will be 40 feet by 60 feet.

Walker is an internationally-famous artist, with street art that's appeared in the UK, Paris, New York City, Los Angeles, and other cities around the world. That figure in the new mural here in Albany is his trademark character "The Vandal."

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Checking out the new mural in downtown Albany that was just finished

We got a chance to stop in downtown Albany Thursday and see local artist Liz Zunon putting the final touches on her new mural along the wall for the Clinton Ave off ramp near the Quackenbush Garage.

The new work -- "Geraldine's Reverie" -- is the latest in a series of Capital Walls murals, a collaboration between the Albany Parking Authority, Albany Center Gallery, and Albany Barn. One of those earlier works -- the bluebirds mural by Michael Conlin on the side of the parking garage -- is more or less above the spot of the new work. (There's a sidewalk off Broadway that will take you right by it.)

Zunon is an accomplished children's book illustrator. And we got a chance to talk with her for a few minutes Thursday about what it was like to create something on a much larger scale.

Also: A handful of photos of the new mural.

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There's a new mural going up in downtown Albany

Check it out: The next downtown Albany mural is being created by local artist Liz Zunon, and she'll be working on it during the next two weeks.

The mural is along south side wall of the Clinton Ave off-ramp at Broadway, near the Quackenbush Parking Garage. Look for the bluebird mural on the garage and the new mural-in-progress is nearby on ground level.

The public artwork is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Albany Parking Authority, Albany Center Gallery, and Albany Barn. The orgs have already teamed up for a handful of other murals downtown (see the links below).

You might be familiar with Liz Zunon's work. She's an accomplished children's book illustrator. (She's also working on a book she both authored and illustrated, Grandpa Cacao, that's inspired by her time growing up in Ivory Coast. It's set to be published next year.) And Zunon also created one of those giant Dutch clogs that were placed around Albany a few years back as part of a public art installation.

Press release mural blurbage:

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There's another Capital Walls mural tour in downtown Albany coming up

A mural by Rachel Baxter along Water Street.

Albany Center Gallery has organized another Capital Walls mural tour in downtown Albany for August 4. Blurbage:

The guided tour, led by mural curator Tony Iadicicco, will stop at several public artworks around Albany. Mural artists Rachel Baxter, Michael Conlin, Cara Hanley and Sylvie Kantorovitz will join us on the tour, with each having a chance to talk about the inspiration for their mural as well as their artistic process.

The tour is that Saturday from 11 am to 1 pm. Tickets are $25 and include the tour, a beverage at Loch & Quay, refreshments at the Olde English, and a Capital Walls mural pin. You'll also be supporting a stipend for the artists.

Earlier:
+ Here's how those three new murals in downtown Albany turned out
+ Gawking at the newly finished mural on the Quackenbush Garage in downtown Albany
+ Flocking to downtown

A fanciful creature come to life

One more mural glimpse from downtown Albany from this week, just because it's so fun...

Here's a beginning-middle-end gif of a portion of Sylvie Kantorovitz's new mural in the Green-Hudson parking garage. It's one of three new murals downtown that are part of the Capital Walls project.

(And thanks to Francine for sharing the "middle" photo on our Facebook page!)

Have a great weekend.

Here's how those three new murals in downtown Albany turned out

Here's some photo follow-up on those three murals-in-progress in downtown Albany was posted about last week.

The works are part of the Capital Walls project -- a collaboration among the Albany Center Gallery, curator Tony Iadicicco, and the Albany Barn. And it's being funded by the Albany Parking Authority as part of its ongoing effort to make its garages feel more welcoming. (See also: The two large murals on the Quackenbush garage.)

As Iadicicco told us last week, "The goal is to inspire and create community and sense of place."

Here's how they turned out...

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Three new murals for downtown Albany

Something you might notice this week: Three new murals are going up in downtown Albany.

Two of the murals are in the Green Street drive-through section of the Green-Hudson parking garage, and the other is on the side of a wall along Water Street and I-787 by the Riverfront parking garage.

The work is part of the Capital Walls project -- a collaboration among the Albany Center Gallery, curator Tony Iadicicco, and the Albany Barn. And it's being funded by the Albany Parking Authority as part of its ongoing effort to make its garages feel more welcoming. (See also: The two large murals on the Quackenbush garage.)

"The goal is to inspire and create community and sense of place," said Iadicicco of the murals.

The works should be finished within the next two weeks. Here's a quick in-progress look at each one...

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Gawking at the newly finished mural on the Quackenbush Garage in downtown Albany

Right to the point: Here's a handful of photos the newly finished mural on the Quackenbush Garage in downtown Albany.

The artist Hellbent was in town last week(end) working on the mural. His inspirations for some of the patterns in the mural: Dutch porcelain, the orange and blue of the city flag, and some of local deco architecture.

It's part of the same collaboration between the Albany Parking Authority and Albany Center Gallery that produced the bluebird mural on the opposite side of the garage last year.

Let's have a look...

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A few bits about that big, new mural going up on the side of the Quackenbush Garage in Albany

Maybe you've noticed the new mural going up on the south face of the Quackenbush Garage in downtown Albany.

Here's what's up with that, along with a few in-progress pics...

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Flocking to downtown

We stopped by the Quackenbush Parking Garage in downtown Albany Tuesday to see large mural that artist Michael Conlin recently completed there. There are a handful of large photos after the jump if you'd like to have a look.

The mural -- which is roughly 25 feet by 85 feet -- is part of an effort by the Albany Parking Authority to make its garages more welcoming. The art is the result of a collaboration between Conlin and a handful of local orgs, including the Albany Center Gallery.

City officials have also said the mural's site -- along the Clinton Ave off-ramp from 787 -- also means it can also double as a way of welcoming people to the city. The mural depicts a group of Eastern Bluebirds (the state bird of New York) flocking toward downtown.

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Flock, in progress

Quick, in-progress update on that new mural project in downtown Albany: We stopped by for a few minutes Thursday afternoon and it looked like artist Michael Conlin had already made a lot of progress.

The mural will eventually depict a group of Eastern Bluebirds flocking toward downtown. There are a few pics after the jump if you're curious.

The Albany Parking Authority commissioned Conlin to create the mural on the side of the Quackenbush Parking Garage on Broadway (alongside the 787 off-ramp for Clinton Ave) as part of an effort to make its garages more welcoming. He told us earlier this week the mural would probably take a few weeks to complete, depending on weather conditions.

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The parking garage as canvas

If you look closely, you can make out the mural pattern on the garage.

Over the next few weeks a flock of birds will emerge in downtown Albany. A flock of really big birds.

The side of the Quackenbush Parking Garage that faces the Clinton Ave off ramp from I-787 will serve as the canvas for a new mural depicting Eastern Bluebirds flying into downtown. The Albany Parking Authority commissioned local artist Michael Conlin to create the work.

"There's something great about seeing a fantastic piece of art, for free, on the side of a building as you're coming to a city," APA exec director Matthew Peter said Monday after the public announcement of the project. "It sort of feels like you're supposed to be here."

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