MORE THAN 50 LOCAL ARTISTS JOIN TO TRANSFORM THE EAST HARLEM METRO NORTH CORRIDOR WITH THE UPTOWN GRANDSCALE MURAL PROJECT ARTIST BIOS Adam Negron Instagram: @adambomb.nyc Adam Negron was born and raised in El Barrio. A proud dad, he is also a graffiti and street artist who is a frequent contributor to the Guerilla Gallery organized by the Harlem Arts Collective on East 116th Street between Third and Second avenues. He is also a veteran of the 100 Gates Project. For Uptown Grandscale, he will be contributing his signature bold graffiti and colors. Alexis Duque Instagram: @duqueart With a psychedelic precision reminiscent of M.C. Escher’s, Alexis Duque produces meticulously architectural compositions of trippy, absurd buildings and towers. Through his playful stacking and piling, he reorders cities and charts the psychological experience of space. A resident of Harlem for 15 years, Duque holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The University of Antioquia, Colombia, and his work has been exhibited in East Harlem’s El Museo del Barrio, as well as venues around the world. For Uptown Grandscale, he will be bringing his architectural art to the streets. Christy Ayala Instagram: @artbychristyayala, @fantasyincolornyc Christy Ayala is a self-taught Latina artist who was born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx. She often works with her husband Rob (see Rob Ayala below). Open to many creative paths, her artwork is inspired by personal experience of love and pain, as well as an interpretation of her surrounding environment. For Uptown Grandscale, she will paint her signature koi fishes and eye-flowers. Doris Rodriguez Instagram: @dorisrodg Doris Rodriguez is a native of the Dominican Republic who teaches art at a public school here in Harlem. Her work features representational figures placed against layered and textured backgrounds, and she often infuses her work with political social commentary, finding the energetic tension between precision and chaos. She is an alum of Parsons, the New School for Design, and has exhibited internationally, winning awards for her illustrated books. For Uptown Grandscale, she plans to layer 1 geometrical and floral design with a painting of people in movement, to reflect the culture of the neighborhood. Eloburnz (Charlie Elo) Instagram: @eloburnz Eloburnz was born and raised Uptown, and is always honored to be able to work in his home neighborhood. A Bronx-based Dominican artist and filmmaker, his body of work spans themes including using animals as a representation of the urban jungle known as New York City, as well as depictions of the NYC mass transit system. Having painted large-scale murals both locally and internationally, Eloburnz primarily utilizes aerosol and acrylic paint. For Uptown Grandscale, he envisions interpreting NYC as jungle of concrete, the city that never sleeps. Erica Purnell Instagram: @ericapurnell Erica Purnell loves portraits and bold prints, and loves to marry the two with large, unapologetic strokes. Having designed custom footwear and apparel for more than a decade via her company IGOTPINKEYE, she is now a full-time creative who paints, designs and teaches art to kids and peers alike. Inspired by connection and roots, one of her heroes is her grandfather. For Uptown Grandscale, she will pay homage to all the families who have immigrated to New York and spent generations working to build New York City. Evan Bishop Instagram: @evanbishopart, @320bodyart Born and raised in the Boogie Down Bronx, Evan Bishop grew up on University Avenue, a few blocks from the birthplace of hip-hop. He developed his graffiti skills on walls in the Bronx and in the underground No. 1 train subway yard, with his desire to paint superseding the dangers of rival graffiti crews and active third rails. Over the years, he has worked in various formats, most recently in digital graphic and body art, and in helping to produce the largest community art project in the history of Yonkers, Yes Yonkers. His first commissioned mural in Harlem was at 125th Street & Fifth Avenue, and he is honored to return to 125th Street to bless a wall on the streets that Franco The Great made famous. For Uptown Grandscale, he plans to empower the community with art that incorporates the symbols of West African adinkra symbols and abstract masks. Gera Lozano Instagram: @geraluz Born in the Amazon jungle of Peru, then transferred to the urban jungle of New York and New Jersey as a child, Gera Lozano is a conceptual artist whose work beautifies and brings to light culturally specific sacred patterns, as well as the patterns woven into our social fabric. She began her ongoing 2 connection to 125th Street & Park Avenue four years ago, when she served as the teaching artist for "Harlem Sunrise," the mural on the comfort station located under the Metro-North viaduct that is based on the Terry Adkins "Harlem Encore" sculpture on the viaduct above. Gera has since returned to the intersection in partnership with Uptown Grand Central several times, first to create "Harlem Sunshine Box" on the plaza space under the train tracks, then to extend the sunshine patterns to the southeast corner via "Op-Glories" for the 100 Gates Project on a now-demolished building. In Summer 2019, she has expanded to the intersection’s southwest corner with "Uptown Sunshine Fabric," a mash-up of bold sunshine with the kente cloths of West Africa. Gera intends for her work carry the spirit of cultures and dreams, creating urban pressure points that reflect the energetic field of their environment with optical perception. At 125th Street, her bold colors represent hope for prosperity and the vitality of the diverse peoples who pass through this Harlem crossroads. Later in September 2019, her fifth work at 125th Street & Park Avenue will be installed in partnership with Uptown Grand Central and the N.Y.C. Department of Transportation’s Arterventions program. Isaias Crow Instagram: @isaiascrow Gibran Isaias Lopez, a.k.a. Isaias Crow, is part of the Gera Lozano crew who brought us "Uptown Sunshine Fabric." An international mural artist and author, Isaias draws on bright colors and bold geometry to represent human energy fields, consciousness, subconsciousness, dreams and desires. He creates intuitively, reflecting the diverse communities he visits with artwork that reflect each place’s powerful energy. For Uptown Grandscale, he created the "Harlem Messenger of Inner Power" on Park Avenue between 124th & 125th streets, a jaguar who represents inner power and courage. Jennifer Jimenez Instagram: @lust4life Jennifer Jimenez was raised Harlem, works in Harlem, and now lives in the Bronx. A painter, Illustrator and graphic designer, she is inspired by art icons such as Frida Kahlo, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat and loves to explore the freedom that art brings. For Uptown Grandscale, she will be incorporating music and culture into a piece that represents Harlem and the people in it. Jose Baez Instagram: @jaurelionyc Jose Baez is a Puerto Rican painter who was born in the Bronx and spent much of his teenage years copying comic-book covers and Saturday-morning cartoons. His paintings use graphic stylistic line- making and pop-culture color combinations along with raw textures pulled from New York City. He has exhibited his studio work at venues including P.S. 109 here in East Harlem, the Bronx Documentary Center, and the L.I.C. Arts Open, as well as created large-scale murals at locations including the Welling Court Mural Project, Soho Hospitality Group and SpinNYC. For Uptown Grandscale, he plans 3 to draw on traditional Japanese paintings translated through graffiti and surrealist stylings to result in a colorful, bold and bouncing narrative. Kristy McCarthy Instagram: @dgaleart Kristy McCarthy, a.k.a. D. Gale, is a self-taught painter, muralist and community organizer. She has lived in East Harlem for eight years and is the founder and director of the Harlem Art Collective. She has painted murals and organized public art projects all over the world and in El Barrio, with the themes of her work often dealing with the interconnection between people and nature, as well social justice issues. For Uptown Grandscale, she worked with Colombia-based artist Lina Diosa to create "A Room of Ones Own" on East 125th Street between Park and Lexington, a piece intended to offer an image of comfort to those who do not have the safety or comfort of their own private space to sleep at night. Lady K Fever Instagram: @ladykfever Lady K Fever is a Bronx-based inter-disciplinary artist and educator who works in painting, installation, photography, performance and public art. A veteran of community art, Lady K has been a part of projects including "Under the Viaduct" with the West Harlem Art Fund," "Bronx Lab: Style Wars" at the Bronx Museum, and "Graffiti Research Lab" at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). She has been featured in book "Graffiti Women: Street Art from Five Continents." Most recently, Lady K completed a Truck of Art for the NYC Department of Sanitation, which will be on display on the final day of Uptown Grandscale painting on Sunday, September 22 (Party On Park). For Uptown Grandscale, she will bring her bright bouquets to East 125th Street. Laura Alavarez Instagram: @bigeyesworld Laura Alvarez is a teaching artist and the vice president of BxArts Factory, an organization committed to unlock the inner artist in the Bronx community. An experienced illustrator, muralist, graphic designer and artivist. Laura currently works for NYC Parks & Recreation, where she creates public programs and organizes cultural events. For Uptown Grandscale, she plans to brighten the wall with her signature eye-flowers and mandala-flowers. Lesny JN Felix (Underground Art Maphia) Instagram: @lesnyjnfelix Born in Haiti, Lesny JN Felix’s first influences as an artist were the kaleidoscope of bright pink, turquoise and green produced from nearby houses when overlooking the horizon.