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Recap: Curiot, Blaine Fontana, Mary Iverson and More Paint Murals in Portland for Forest for the Trees

In its second year, Forest for the Trees, curated by gallerist Matt Wagner and artist Gage Hamilton, brought together 20 international and local artists in Portland for a few days of mural painting intended to encourage the growth of public art in a city already known for its creative flair. Unlike other street art festivals around the world, Forest for the Trees had a notable presence of artists you wouldn't necessarily put in the street art or graffiti camps.

In its second year, Forest for the Trees, curated by gallerist Matt Wagner and artist Gage Hamilton, brought together 20 international and local artists in Portland for a few days of mural painting intended to encourage the growth of public art in a city already known for its creative flair. Unlike other street art festivals around the world, Forest for the Trees had a notable presence of artists you wouldn’t necessarily put in the street art or graffiti camps.

Mary Iverson, a Washington state-based artist known for her collage-infused landscape paintings, painted a wall alongside Blaine Fontana, who is primarily recognized for his painting and design work, and Jshea, who has garnered attention for his miniature sculptures. These artists joined the likes of Curiot, whose deity-like monster characters populate walls everywhere from his native Mexico City to Berlin, and Faith47, a South African painter and active muralist. Take a look at the first part of our recap and stay tuned for more FFTT photos tomorrow. Portland readers, you can check out the murals in person by following this map.

Curiot:

Blaine Fontana:

Faith47:

Gage Hamilton:

Jeremy Nichols:

Jshea:

Mary Iverson:

Maryanna Hoggatt

Mateu Valasco:

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Public art and murals add an imaginative dimension to the daily humdrum of city life — a cause public art project Forest For The Trees is championing in Portland at Hellion Gallery. The gallery is currently hosting a two-week pop-up fundraiser show for FFTT, which is gearing up for a mural series in late August featuring the likes of Blaine Fontana, DAL, Faith47, Know Hope, Mary Iverson and many other international and Portland-based artists. The current group show at Hellion Gallery features works from a small selection of artworks from some of the participants: an assemblage by Fontana, psychedelic paintings by Brendan Monroe, a landscape collage by Mary Iverson and more. The exhibition is on view through May 30. Stay tuned for news about the Forest For The Trees mural series later this summer.
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Mexico City artist Curiot Tlalpazotl's mythical creations call upon cultural iconography and traditional craftmaking. In recent years, the artist's work has ranged from gallery paintings to massive installations and mural work. Much of it points to Mexican culture, which the artist said he reconnected with upon moving back after living in the States. Curiot was featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 29.
Seattle-based artist Mary Iverson creates oil paintings that both celebrate nature and comment on our problematic choices surrounding it. Slashes and geometric shapes obscure parts of the pristine backdrops depicted by the artist, using an X-acto knife to cut through her initial creations. Here, sites like the California coast and Mount Rainier are overcome by shipping containers and similar, intrusive objects. Iverson was last featured on HiFructose.com here.

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