Recently commissioned to deck out the stairwell of a Downtown LA building, artist duo devNgosha (composed of Devin Liston and Gosha Levochkin) created a winding, multifaceted mural that responds to the building’s structure. The new piece infuses elements of portraiture with illustration and design. There are two fleshed-out figures that act as anchors to the visual flourishes of the whole work: a young man, in profile, and a hooded woman who appears like a deity in her blue cloak (the same shade of blue commonly used in depictions of the Virgen de Guadalupe).
Radiating in the same direction the steps ascend, angular, lighting bolt-shaped lines appear to permeate the figures, connecting one to the other like a current of energy — more spiritual rather than physical. Whimsical characters, painted flatly in a style that evokes Margaret Kilgallen, Barry McGee and other Mission School artists, play mischievously along the wall. The mural anticipates the way viewers will move up the stairs, guiding the eyes as well as the body.
The mural is on view at 420 Boyd St, Los Angeles and was made possible by by Legendary Developments, LLC, in collaboration with The DoArt Foundation and the Los Angeles City Council. Photographer Carlos Gonzalez aka, theonepointeight, captured devNgosha creating this new piece. Take a look at his photos of the duo below.
Duo devNgosha pose with their work.
