This year’s SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Festival features a curated roster spanning the globe, bringing in artists from as far away as Spain and Pakistan to intersect with ‘Burg-based painters and artists from across the U.S. These featured artists and teams will be street-side on the daily, working on new murals (and painting a car) up until the festival wraps. A finale reception October 13 at the Morean Arts Center spotlights some of the participating artists below, alongside local street artists such as Daniel “R5” Barojas, Jennifer Kosharek, and others.
ANGELA FAUSTINA
Atlanta-based artist Angela Faustina paints macro details of juicy fruit at the height of ripeness to highlight the vibrancy of life. Her perspective into the sticky sweetness of organic produce reflects a bold approach that blurs boundaries between whimsical abstraction and scientific realism. Faustina’s paintings have been internationally collected and shown in galleries in the United States, Italy and Portugal since 2006.
BEKKY BEUKES
Originally from South Africa, now based in St. Petersburg, FL, fine artist Bekky Beukes explores the interaction between dark and light, inspiring a dialogue through her work and its ethereal, entwined characters. Her evocative, intricate compositions are easily recognizable and can be found throughout the Tampa Bay region on public walls and in gallery exhibitions.
BELIN
Miguel Ángel Belinchón Bujes, commonly known as Belin, is a Spanish artist best known for his unequivocal post-neocubism style. A self-taught painter, Belin masterfully blends realism with cubism to create a modern technique. His highly acclaimed paintings and sculptures can be found on walls and galleries throughout the world, as well as featured with brands like Dockers, Sephora, and Kat Von D’s High Voltage Tattoo.
CECILIA LUEZA
Argentinean-born artist Cecilia Lueza is best known for creating vibrant public art in a range of mixed media. Her geometric, nature-inspired murals can often be found in unexpected locations such as on crosswalks and rooftops — including a street-surface mural at the intersection of 5th Street and Central Avenue in St. Pete. Lueza’s art is shown in galleries throughout the United States, South America, Spain and France.
DAAS
An American-born contemporary artist now based primarily in Japan, DAAS studied painting, commercial art and graphic design before transitioning into mural art in 2011. His bright, bold designs have a distinct geometric style, marked by angles reminiscent of origami folds. Blending cubism and abstract techniques to create powerful human and animal images, DAAS creates large-scale murals around the United States, Japan, Jordan, and Nepal.
GIBBS ROUNSAVALL
Gibbs Rounsavall of Kentucky is an abstract artist exploring relationships between line, shape, and color. His precise use of geometry creates movement, and pigments are carefully selected to elicit memories and explore the psychology of perception. Found in public and private collections worldwide, Rounsavall’s paintings encourage viewers to pause and be present.
HAIDER ALI
Appearing through a partnership with CARMADA, Haider Ali is a Pakistani painter best known for his work in the distinctive truck art style, a popular form of regional decoration in South Asia that features elaborate floral patterns and calligraphy on vehicles. He gained international attention in 2002 when he worked on the first authentic Pakistani truck in North America for the Smithsonian, and has since exhibited at museums and institutions globally.
J&S SIGNS
Founded in St. Petersburg in 2013, the vintage hand-lettering collaboration between Jeffrey Sincich and Josh Stover, known as J&S Signs, is now based out of Portland, Oregon. Known for creating murals with positive community messages and a distinctly vintage style, the team at J&S Signs has worked for notable brands such as Nike, Adidas, Patagonia, and Airbnb.
LOOK THE WEIRD
Founding member of the 10-person internationally-renowned graffiti crew The Weird, LOOK (Lars Wunderlich) is an accomplished contemporary artist from Germany best known for his highly detailed graffiti-style characters. His mural and canvas work can be found displayed throughout the world. LOOK is also a founding member of the design collective Peach Beach with Vidam the Weird.
MATTHEW HOFFMAN
Appearing in partnership with the Public Art Project, Matthew Hoffman is a Chicago-based artist and designer whose text-focused public works have been internationally exhibited. His large-scale installations appear in the City of Chicago, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, Albright Knox Gallery, and on projects for companies like Apple, Facebook, Zappos, and Cards Against Humanity. He is the custodian of You Are Beautiful, a positive message campaign that reaches across the glove to share uplifting thoughts.
NOMAD CLAN
Hailing from Manchester, United Kingdom, Nomad Clan is an internationally known female duo whose work often celebrates local history or highlights socioeconomic issues relevant to their location. As a collaboration between street artists Cbloxx (Joy Gilleard) and AYLO (Hayley Garner), Nomad Clan brings dark yet playful folkloric murals to walls across Europe. They are celebrated for painting the tallest mural in the U.K., in Leeds.
NOIRS ONE
The colorful, graffiti-inspired work of Noirs One can be found on walls and skate ramps from St. Petersburg up to the Carolinas, and beyond.. Look for more of his crisp lines and bright gradients on the streets now that Noirs is based here full-time.
YA LA’FORD
Ya La’Ford is a professor, painter, installation artist and muralist working out of St. Petersburg, Washington, DC, and New York City. Her process as a painter focuses on adding and subtracting, revealing an obsession with interconnectivity. La’Ford’s signature use of geometric lines with contrasting colors can be found on walls and in galleries throughout the United States.
Through a partnership with Public Art Project, this year’s SHINE Open Call Wall artists include five talented locals:
JAKE JACQUILLARD
Artist Jake Jacquillard creates murals known for their spread of colorful, bubbly letters that drip with edgy personality.
JUSTIN WAGHER
St. Pete native Justin Wagher is a vital part of the area’s art movement. As a student in the PCCA art program at Gibbs High School, he completed 12 murals throughout area for his senior concentration, and now is the youngest working artist in the city at age 20. Hallmarks of his murals include an impressionistic style and monochromatic palette, often rendered through still life or street scenes.
MELANIE POSNER
Melanie Posner’s photorealistic paintings offer her and the viewer a form of meditation through the use of striking colors and energetic movement.
MICHAEL VAHL
Portrait artist Michael Vahl has painted everyone from Salvador Dali to Audrey Hepburn in his signature graphic, pop-art style. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he is now based in St. Petersburg and his murals can be found on walls throughout the city.
SARAH PAGE
Muralist and illustrator Sarah Page is an emerging artist whose boldly colored, graphic work can be found in Tampa and St. Pete.
