By October, a new artist will add to Gainesville’s growing collection of colorful street art.
352walls announced Friday that Puerto Rican artist David Zayas would be contracted to paint a mural near Leonardo’s 706 at the end of October.
The artist will paint the 24th mural for 352walls, a 10-year program that began last year as a way to beautify the city. Zayas was sponsored and will be paid by local business owner Hector Puig, who owns Hector Framing and Gallery at the 706 W. University Ave. plaza. After meeting Zayas at the artist’s studio during a trip to Puerto Rico, Puig, who declined to say how much is paying Zayas, recommended Zayas to 352walls.
“[I] thought he’d be a great artist to highlight here in the 706 plaza,” Puig said. “He’ll be doing something...pretty cool.”
A five-member curatorial board reviewed Zayas’ portfolio and decided he would be a welcome addition, said Raquel Vallejo, a coordinator for 352walls.
Vallejo said the arts program saw Zayas, who is also a University of Puerto Rico arts professor, as more than qualified to add to Gainesville’s street art landscape just in time for the 35th Annual Downtown Festival & Art Show, which will be held Nov. 5 and 6.
“We are lucky to have him,” she said.
Kiana Cleveland, a UF business administration freshman who works downtown, said the addition of Zayas’ mural will only add to the art she admires on her walk from work.
“They are so deep,” she said. “I appreciate the artistic value and creativity in them.”
A mural in the 352Walls Project decorates the north wall of The Top, facing Northwest First Avenue, on Dec. 3, 2015.
