Arts & Culture
Two of Richmond's beloved murals, created in the 1990s by artist John Wehrle, are being restored in a collaboration with Caltrans and the City of Richmond, according to project lead Richard Muro Salazar.
The work is being done by hand with the help of local artists who are diligently mixing paint and applying it to key places on the nearly 30-year-old murals.
Salazar told Grandview that for the next few weeks, his team will be visible on San Pablo and Macdonald Avenues repairing the murals, which have suffered significant vandalism through the years, and there will be new murals as well.
"One new design is from Jerarde Gutierrez, and we hope to have it installed by the end of the year," Salazar said.
Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez, a Richmond artist who assembled the team working to carefully restore the murals, will create another new mural of her own design nearby.
"We are very proud that this team is composed of Richmond artists," Garcia-Gonzalez said. "There will actually be two new murals: one designed by Jerarde Gutierrez and another on Macdonald Avenue designed by me, across the street from John's mural."
The original murals, created in the 1990s by local artist John Wehrle, depict vivid scenes of Richmond's past. For years, the art remained remarkably graffiti-free, but recently the artwork has been marred by spray paint, something Salazar said is unusual in Richmond. "We see a lot of this in Oakland, but not usually in Richmond," Salazar said.
Salazar said his team will be joined by Wehrle in the next few days as they work to complete the project, and then work on the new murals will begin.
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