A Mural for 905 U Street
Education & Community Engagement
Street view of the wall space at 905 U Street, NW where artist James Bullough will create a site-sepcific mural, surrounded by artist renderings of the proposed mural aesthetic.
If you’re walking by 9th & U Street, NW, next week, be sure to peek down the alley at 905 U Street. Under the auspices of The Phillips Collection, DC-born artist James Bullough will be creating a site-specific mural on the eastern wall of a SPMC Urban Properties commercial and rental space beginning Monday, September 21. Bullough’s mural engages the architectural site in a direct and innovative way.
According to the artist, the mural will feature “One or two large figures floating out from the alleyway, as if under water, and appearing to peak around the corner onto the sidewalk. The figure(s)…will interact with the front edge of the building, possibly bracing themselves by holding onto the corner with one hand. Their facial expression(s) will suggest wonder and anticipation of what is around the corner. The figure(s) will be slightly fractured and shifted in my trademark fashion. The entire mural, figure(s) and background, will be painted in light bluish tones, with some flesh-tones in the skin, with lighter blue and white texture resembling the reflections of light passing through rippling water.”
The mural will be in process through Monday, September 28. Check back here for updates.
ABOUT THE ARTIST James Bullough is an American born artist living and working in Berlin, Germany. His paintings and monumentally scaled site-specific murals are phenomenal combinations of realist painting technique and graphic punctuation. Inspired by gritty urban graffiti as a young artist growing up in Washington, DC, Bullough harnessed its energy in his work, and perfected a realistic oil painting technique from his study of the Old Masters. Combining the momentum of the one and the technical precision of the other, his work is about staging compelling contrasts and juxtapositions. Working in everything from oil, spray paint, and ink on canvas, Bullough creates a balance between realistic figurations and stylized interruption to challenge the viewer’s perception.
