#huehouston

[scenefromthesidewalk]

February 17, 2019

"HOUSTON, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM!"

by Pez

In 1999 Jose Sabate, aka Pez, began painting on the walls of Barcelona and discovered that he and his work could "transmit good vibes and positivism to the passers-by on the streets." With his trademark, ever-present Fish, Pez and his journey of joy from classic graffiti to experimental pop art have made increasingly frequent stops on scattered world stages and in 2015 included a stop in Houston. Painting at Leeland and Emanuel Streets, next to @TheLondonPolice, Pez brought his self-identified "Barcelona Happy Style" to Texas to join the rest of the world-class cast assembled by @Gonzo247 for the inaugural @HUEMuralFestival. (The @doll_partzz_asylum piece to the left was painted later.)  @pezbarcelona/

[scenefromthesidewalk]

January 9, 2019

"THE CHAMELEON"

by Anat Ronen

Between management changes, show cancellations, and unpaid bills Houston music venue The Meridian shut its doors at the end of 2010. As the site at Leeland and Chartres Streets transitioned into the Houston Graffiti Building it quickly became a magnet for writers sometimes left on the sidelines by the mainstreaming of street art. In 2015 the HUE Mural Festival was launched, further complicating the relationship between the two but propelling this Houston East Downtown neighborhood to a new level of transformation, and the following year Anat Ronen added this work on the side of the Graffiti Building as part of the festival. After a decade of hard work and challenges, creating commissioned work and doing some amazing traditional signage/mural work for WallDogs, Ronen had an opportunity to create a mural for a museum exhibit, unleashing a new passion for urban art as medium for personal expression.  @anatronen1971/  @huemuralfest/

[scenefromthesidewalk]

February 8, 2019

FRANKEL'S COSTUME

by Scott Tarbox

With a history in Houston that goes back to 1950, Terrie and Lonnie Frankel moved their 40,000 sq. ft. costume shop to Polk St in early 2000 and say they were East End pioneers. The Houston neighborhood has seen dramatic changes in the years since but the Frankel's selling off their 57,000 costume inventory in early 2018 was a sad milestone for many, and now all that remains is the Scott Tarbox, aka Mr. T-Box, mural on the back. Painted for HUE Mural Festival in 2016, Houston artist Tarbox—who only picked up spray paint two years earlier—describes the work as a 50-foot macaw with a cat skull helmet, heading off to war.  @tarboxx2/  @huemuralfest

[scenefromthesidewalk]

October 1, 2017

HUE

by Neuzz

“I started to use the concept of the mask first for its aesthetic . . . In the case of the masks that are made in Mexico in particular, they serve as an instrument of interaction and spiritual communication between the animal-man and the forces of nature . . . When a character appears wearing a mask in my drawings or illustrations, it means that it is a phantom spirit.” – Neuzz, from Wynwood Walls

Born in Mexico City and of Mixtec-Zapotec descent, Migues Mejia, aka Neuzz, has always honored the cultural heritage and traditions of his parents and grandparents, but at the same time says he has been influenced by his interaction with graffiti and skateboarding culture. This piece was painted in 2015 at St Emanuel and Leeland Streets in Houston, for the HUE Festival. The 2017 festival that was originally scheduled for October has been postponed due to the tragic devastation caused across the city by Hurricane Harvey.  @neuzz  @huemuralfest