Philadelphia Murals- Roberto Lugo at The Clay Studio

 Art, Artists, Music, Painting / Painters, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Public Art, Street Art
Jul 022026
 

The Talented Mr. Trotter: You Can Be Anything, located on the wall of The Clay Studio building, was created by Philadelphia artist Roberto Lugo in 2022.  It is a portrait of Philadelphia musician Tariq Trotter, aka Black Thought, of The Roots.

From Mural Arts Philadelphia about the mural:

The Talented Mr. Trotter: You Can Be Anything by artist Roberto Lugo is located in the Olde Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lugo has taken inspiration from musical artist Tariq Trotter of The Roots, particularly his story of growing up in Philly as a renaissance man. The mural design explores Trotter’s personal and artistic influences, while materially representing his myriad elements of inspiration and support through combining textile and ceramic patterning from across the world. Trotter’s central portrait is elevated in being formally honored on a highly decorative vase, flanked by his grandmother, who raised him, on the left and Afrika Bombaataa on the right. Traditional floral patterns are spread across the background but are filled with primarily non-Western and street culture patterns. Visual references range from African and South American textile prints, to the graffiti-esque fonts of sneaker culture.

A Kensington-born potter, social activist, spoken word poet, and educator, Roberto Lugo sees his pottery as a process of transforming the ground we walk on into something we eat from. His studio practice communicates with diverse audiences that, in some cases, are not so invested in using art to understand the world. Over the past two years, Lugo has led ceramic workshops at Tyler School of Art and several virtual design challenges with youth in Mural Arts’ Education program. These workshops have tapped into everyday patterns and ceramic traditions from all over the world. Lugo has created a large mural inspired by Roots leading member and proud Philadelphian, Tariq Trotter. Trotter’s multi-talented and visionary approach to his creative practice and humble dedication to his home city are core aspects of Lugo’s mural homage.

A longtime advocate for The Clay Studio and its community programs, Lugo’s mural is installed on The Clay Studio’s building in Olde Kensington at 1425 N American Street that opened in spring 2022.

Pennsylvania Murals- “Magic Hour” by Brad Carney and Ursula Rucker in Philadelphia

 Art, Artists, Painting / Painters, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Public Art, Street Art, Writers
Jun 242026
 

Magic Hour, by artist and educator Brad Carney and poet Ursula Rucker, was created in 2021 for Mural Arts Philadelphia.

From Mural Arts about the work:

Magic Hour by artist Brad Carney and poet Ursula Rucker was created to reflect personal moments and shared feelings from community experiences during magic hour. Magic hour is a transitional moment each day at sunrise and sunset where the light embraces us and gives us pause to view the awe of the light. The design represents a scene of transition. The sun is just about to set, people are coming and going, embracing the moment of illuminating light.

The mural, placed across the street from the Berks SEPTA station, is also reflective of a location of transition for many commuters going to work, school, and home. The mural aims to provide a moment of pause to those in their daily commute and passers-by, just as magic hour does — reflect in a moment, shed light on our lives, and embrace the day.

Each figurative element represents an expression of joy or wonder as the viewer connects within themselves or with others. The landscape draws from nature, historical buildings, and local contemporary settings reflecting the past, but also looking ahead at the collective bright future. The words and images in the mural are meant to stand alone. They can be formed into one’s own narrative, or be something that the viewer thinks about and interprets as they walk away from the mural.

Pennsylvania Murals- Isaac Tin Wei Lin’s “Start From Here” in Philadelphia

 Art, Artists, Painting / Painters, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Public Art, Street Art
Jun 172026
 

Isaac Tin Wei Lin created Start From Here in 2015 for Mural Arts Philadelphia.

From the Mural Arts website about the work:

Start From Here is a deconstruction and distillation of Isaac Tin Wei Lin’s previous abstract work which used calligraphic brush marks in single colors. In this piece similar marks were layered in different colors creating a chaotic tapestry. The layered marks are then presented individually like Lego pieces laid out before assembly, allowing them to be seen as parts of a whole.

Start From Here is a reference to operational and instructional manuals for building something. The colors of the marks were chosen based on color theory, what looked good to the artist and national flags. The title plays into the idea of newness and beginnings, while the use of colors of national flags speaks to the idea that (unless you are Native American) we all come from somewhere else as immigrants or refugees, and as the artist’s parents did, are here to start a new life.

You can also find his work on Instagram.

Ohio Murals- Lizzi Arronhalt’s Mural in Canton

 Art, Art Shows by Location, Artists, Canton, Canton, Ohio Art Shows, Ohio Street Art, Painting / Painters, Public Art, Street Art
Jun 042026
 

Ohio artist and muralist Lizzi Aronhalt created this mural in 2023. It is located on the Arts in Stark building in downtown Canton.

Elsewhere, an exhibition of her landscape and cityscape paintings, is currently on view at Cyrus Custom Framing and Art Gallery in Canton until 6/30/26.

You can also find her work on Instagram.

Pennsylvania Murals- David Guinn’s “Garden of Delight” in Philadelphia

 Art, Artists, Painting / Painters, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Public Art, Street Art
Jun 022026
 

Overlooking the Sartain Street Community Garden, David Guinn‘s mural Garden of Delight was created in 2010 for Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program.

About the mural from Mural Arts Philadelphia’s website:

On the left side of the mural, rendered in line drawings, are three vignettes from the immediate neighborhood. Two trees in the center lean into each other, symbolic of an embrace. The garden spills out from the space between them. This is to symbolize the spirit of community gardens and the people who work together to nurture these gardens. Guinn created the mural with transparent colors, to simulate the feel of a watercolor painting. The bottom extends the actual garden’s space up onto the wall and vice versa.

You can also find Guinn’s work on his Instagram.

Philadelphia Murals- Meg Saligman’s “Philadelphia Muses”

 Art, Artists, Painting / Painters, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Public Art, Street Art
May 052026
 

Artist Meg Saligman has created several murals for the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program including Philadelphia Muses, pictured above, which was painted in 1999.

From the Mural Arts website about this mural-

Intended as a contemporary interpretation of the classical muses, Saligman has created an arts landscape filled with figures and elements symbolizing today’s art and creativity.

In the center of the composition is an arts machine spinning out spheres, symbols of the perfect art form. Each of the nine muses in the composition is associated with a sphere, and there are circular references throughout the composition, such as the compass.

Through portraits of local performing artists and references to works of art by local artists, Saligman honors the following forms of creative expression.

The entire mural was created by the artist in her studio using large squares of a polyester fabric called non-woven media (or parachute cloth). These were then adhered to the wall with an acrylic gel, much like a giant decoupage. Saligman’s style is very painterly yet also very realistic and makes frequent allusions to classical themes and figures like the muses in this composition.

Flashback- Los Angeles Murals- Hueman’s “Bloom” in DTLA

 Art, Artists, California Street Art, Los Angeles Street Art, Painting / Painters, Public Art, Street Art
May 012026
 

Today’s flashback is to Allison Hueman‘s 2017 mural Bloom, spotted in 2019 in downtown LA’s Arts District.  The mural pays tribute to local community activist Joel Bloom, who passed away in 2007.

For more work by Hueman, also check out her Instagram.

Pennsylvania Murals- Amy Sherald in Philadelphia

 Art, Artists, Painting / Painters, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Public Art, Street Art
Apr 082026
 

This portrait of Philadelphian Najee Spencer-Young was created by artist Amy Sherald in 2019 for Mural Arts Philadelphia.

From the Mural Arts website about the work-

Artist Amy Sherald made headlines around the world with her stunning official portrait of Michelle Obama, portraying not only the beauty and intelligence of the woman herself but the depth and breadth of all that she represents as our first African-American First Lady. Sherald’s overall body of work represents reflective, everyday moments within the lives of Black people, evocative portraits that explore how people construct and present their own identities.

Now Sherald brings her work to a new scale: working with Mural Arts Philadelphia on a massive mural portrait in Center City. The portrait is of Najee S., a young Philadelphian and participant in our art education program. Like the First Lady’s portrait, Sherald’s mural challenges ideas about identity and the public gaze, asking the questions: “Who is allowed to be comfortable in public spaces? Who is represented in art? How can one woman’s portrait begin to shift that experience for others?”

The project began with a field trip to Sherald’s studio by some of Mural Arts’ art education participants. The young people spent a day with Sherald, learning about her unique artistic practice, exploring costumes, and taking photographs together that would form the inspiration for the mural.

Three of Mural Arts’ Art Education assistant artists, Kien Nguyen, Arthur Haywood, and Emily White, also had the opportunity to study with Sherald in order to learn about her artistic process. They shared her unique process in classroom exercises with Philadelphia students, and also began work from Amy’s design to execute the six-story-high mural.

Mural Arts Philadelphia Executive Director Jane Golden says, “We are so honored to be working with Amy Sherald. For years we have admired her painting; there is such strength in her composition, her color and the way she captures a gaze. And now she has teamed up with our art education program to create a unique mural in the heart of our city. What an extraordinary moment for Mural Arts and for Philadelphia.”

 

Pennsylvania Art Shows- Ava Blitz at Philadelphia International Airport

 Art, Art Shows by Location, Artists, Glasswork, Installation Art, Pennsylvania Art Shows, Philadelphia
Mar 262026
 

Ava Blitz created this glass mosaic, Pink, in 2012 for Philadelphia International Airport. It is part of Philadelphia’s Percent for Art Program.

From Art at PHL-

Philadelphia artist Ava Blitz works in various artistic disciplines including sculpture and photography. In either medium, Blitz is inspired by nature and natural forms. In her sculptural work, she is known to mass similar objects together to suggest continual growth and to emulate the abundance of repetitive forms found in nature. Her sculpture is often large-scale and abstract with minimal detail to capture nature’s basic essence and to encourage the viewer’s imagination. Blitz also photographs nature, usually imagery that she has taken while on walks near her home. The photographs, typically of trees, feature variations of dense, lush foliage. Using digital photography, Blitz is able to heighten the color and alter the imagery to emphasize the beauty and mystery that inspires her artwork.

In Pink, Blitz has incorporated her photography and her interest in nature, abstraction, and repetition to create a glass tile mosaic. She describes the artwork as “playing with the edge between realism and abstraction to create a magical forest or garden – a virtual reality that viewers can enter, explore, and experience on multiple levels.” Seen from a distance, the branches and pink blossoms are recognizable. Yet up close, the tree dissolves into an abstraction of tactile, colorful, iridescent glass tiles.

Pennsylvania Art Shows- Sarah Zwerling at Philadelphia International Airport

 Art, Art Shows by Location, Artists, Installation Art, Pennsylvania Art Shows, Philadelphia, Photographers / Photography
Mar 262026
 

Sarah Zwerling‘s digital collage Hamilton Street, Philadelphia, is on view at the Philadelphia International Airport as part of their exhibition programming.

From Art at PHL’s website–

Philadelphia artist Sarah Zwerling was invited to create a site-specific artwork installed directly on two interior glass enclosures located in Terminal A-East. Zwerling, whose work often features nature and architectural structures, has combined these influences as she has re-imagined her neighborhood street — an area in West Philadelphia characterized by its abundance of twin homes. Using digital photography, Zwerling focused on the rooflines of the Hamilton Street homes in combination with various trees found throughout nearby Fairmount Park. The imagery lines both sides of the concourse similar to the experience of walking along a narrow residential street like Hamilton. Zwerling has emphasized and altered aspects of the homes and the trees, even adding stylized blossoms and birds to animate the landscape and enhance the overall beauty and sense of wonderment.

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