We are pleased to announce our partnership with the Andersonville Development Corporation. Together we invited Ruben Aguirre to create a mural for the Clark Street parklet in Andersonville. The parklet has already been reviewed by the Chicago Tribune - and Ruben's artwork will make this 'people spot' even more enticing. With his roots in graffiti, an art form that inherently revolves around "taking" space for the self, Aguirre now creates public works based on the concept of contributing to the space it occupies. For his site-specific public art, Ruben draws from the energy found in a particular environment to create inspired pieces that embody a community, whether an affluent area or impoverished neighborhood. His goal is to create and leave behind work that adds a punch of color to the existing landscape, which, in turn, engages and challenges passers-by.

GNO is very pleased to present a new public art mural at 1101 W. Granville in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood by artist Ruben Aguirre. With work ranging in scale from aerosol murals to intricate paper collages, Ruben Aguirre's work continues to evolve with a strong design aesthetic. Both his public art and studio work lean heavy on elements of typography, blended with influences of nature, evolution, existentialism and life as a Chicagoan. Ruben’s work is set to organically rhythmic compositions that build up in layers and exhibit a distinct, joyous use of color. With his roots in graffiti, an art form that inherently revolves around "taking" space for the self, Aguirre now creates public works based on the concept of contributing to the space it occupies. For his site-specific public art, Ruben draws from the energy found in a particular environment to create inspired pieces that embody a community, whether an affluent area or impoverished neighborhood. His goal is to create and leave behind work that adds a punch of color to the existing landscape, which, in turn, engages and challenges passers-by. Aguirre’s techniques and composition are a manifestation of his early graffiti work, filtered through an organic aesthetic of dynamic movement and asymmetrical placement. The result is a set of color-based relationships that appear to grow and build on the surface of which they are placed.

Before I Die by Candy Chang

Spring 2012

It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget what really matters to you. In February 2011, with help from friends, artist Candy Chang turned the side of an abandoned house in her neighborhood in New Orleans into a giant chalkboard where residents could write on the wall and remember what is important to them. Before I Die transformed an overlooked space into a constructive one to help improve the neighborhood and personal well-being. Painted with chalkboard paint and stenciled with the sentence "Before I die I want to _______", this wall is a temporary installation where we can learn the hopes and dreams of the people around us. Candy Chang believes the design of our public spaces can better reflect what matters to us as a community and as individuals. Before I Die has been presented around the world: New Orleans, Amsterdam, London, Portsmouth, Queretaro, Almaty, San Diego, Lisbon, Brooklyn, and Melbourne.

Chicago locations are sponsored by the Chicago Urban Art Society and Good News Only. Special thanks to Metropolis Coffee, B & R Developers, and Rust-Oleum.

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