Wall Painting for Austin

Photo credit: Ben Porter

Arturo Herrera
12th St. and Red River St. at Waterloo Park

Wall Painting for Austin, designed by internationally-renowned Venezuelan artist Arturo Herrera, is located on the Waller Creek Tunnel Inlet Facility at Waterloo Park – highly visible to passersby, both in car and on foot. This mural was created using acrylic paint on exposed concrete substrate finished with eco-friendly coating in June 2021.

The mural was commissioned by Waterloo Greenway Conservancy in partnership with the City of Austin’s Watershed Protection and Parks & Recreation Departments. A team of talented local artists installed the 6,587 sq. ft. artwork, including Jason Archer and Josh Row of Show Goat Mural Works, along with brother and sister duo Joe Swec and Jana Swec – whose work can be found at local favorites including Hillside Farmacy, Easy Tiger and Loro.

“As we continue our important mission to beautify and restore Waller Creek, showcasing artwork that is expressive of cultures all over the world will always be a top priority for Waterloo Greenway. We are thrilled to have Arturo’s incredible design to life for all to soon enjoy at Waterloo Park,” said Jeanne Klein, Waterloo Greenway Board Member and Art Committee Chair. “By working with local designers on the mural’s installation, we’re able to bring international art to the heart of downtown Austin. The Tunnel Inlet mural is just the beginning of the amazing work we plan to showcase for the community.” 

The mix of international design with local installation and production is a perfect illustration of how Waterloo Park supports Austin talent, as well as its initiatives to feature talent from all over the world. Using animated, abstract biomorphic shapes and lines within a blue and white color scheme, Herrera’s mural echoes the movement of the complex flow of water inside the Waller Creek Tunnel, as well as the vitality and essence of Waterloo Park in an urban environment.

Funded by the Betty and Edward Marcus Foundation, Wall Painting for Austin was created specifically for Waterloo Greenway for long-term public viewing at Waterloo Park. The mural thoughtfully reflects the spirit of Waller Creek, as well as the functional elements of the Tunnel Inlet Facility through water management, oxygenation and debris collection.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Arturo Herrera was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1959, he currently lives and works in Berlin. Over the last 20 years, Arturo Herrera has developed an internationally celebrated, multi-layered body of work—from collages, felt sculpture, public commissions, and wall paintings. His work often references the conflicted legacy of abstraction. Herrera employs shapes and imagery from popular culture, prompting a multiplicity of references and reading for the viewer.

Herrera has been the recipient of many awards including a Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) Fellowship and The Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. Selected public collections include: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco CA; Boston Museum of Art, Boston MA; Miami Art Museum, Miami FL; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago IL; Museum of Modern Art, New York NY; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York NY; Tate Modern, London UK; Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, Germany; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles CA; Dallas Art Museum, Dallas TX, among others.

Jason Archer is an American visual artist, and pioneer of contemporary arts in Austin, Texas. His solo work fuses Pop Art and cultural archetypes that create modern myths. Since 2011, he has operated Show Goat Mural Works, a full-service mural design and production company, with artist Josh Row. Show Goat’s ethos is to create and paint public artworks that transform indoor or outdoor spaces, enrich the community with cultural landmarks, and grow businesses by enhancing storefronts with hand-painted signage and artwork. Jason is also the curator of Preacher Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in Austin, TX.

Josh Row is an American illustrator, designer, and muralist. Josh earned a BFA in design and is the Lead Designer of No Comply Skate Shop. He is a partner and the primary designer of Show Goat Mural Works, a full-service mural design and production company based in Austin, TX.

Jana Swec received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2001 with a focus in Studio Arts. After moving to Austin in 2001, she co-founded the artist-run organization, Bolm Studios, now known as the non-profit Big Medium, which provides programs such as the East Austin Studio Tour & West Austin Studio Tour, now known as the Austin Studio Tour and the Texas Biennial. In 2002 she became a member of a three-person collaborative group, Sodalitas (with Shea Little and Joseph Phillips).

In 2007, Jana turned her focus toward her own body of work depicting anthropomorphic creatures and dreamscapes creating a unique and beautiful balance between powerful formal abstraction elements and organic growth. These scenes and characters tell narratives about life, movement, time, relationships & death.

In 2014 she stepped away from Big Medium to work full time on her own artwork and making custom murals in the offices of clients such as Facebook, Whole Foods and Google.

Joe Swec is an artist and sign painter living and working in Austin, TX.