An Italian artist whose murals span the globe will work his magic on the side of a downtown building beginning Monday.
Giuseppe Percivati, a professional muralist from Turin, Italy, will prepare, sketch and then paint the south wall of a building in the 400 block of Central Avenue, in front of the Exchange Street Parking Plaza. His mural will be Hot Springs National Park Rotary's gift to Hot Springs as it ends its Centennial Year celebration at the end of June.
Mary Neilson, founder of the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance, said spectators are welcome to come and watch Percivati work his craft, noting, "We just want the public to watch it progress."
A lifelong artist, Percivati specializes in murals and paintings. He has created works all over the world, with murals featured in destinations such as Australia, Portugal, Pakistan and Japan.
Percivati learned of the Rotary Club's online competition to create the mural and submitted a design that depicts two Native Americans of the Quapaw tribe, which signed a treaty that granted the city's land to settlers in 1818.
"I did a little bit of research," Percivati said. "The Quapaw Tribe was an important part of the history of Hot Springs."
Percivati heard his work had been accepted at the beginning of March. He said coming to Hot Springs in June fit well into his travel schedule.
"I had another mural in Denver, which I just finished last week," he said. "The timing was perfect."
Neilson said Hot Springs is "very fortunate" to have an internationally featured artist working in the community.
Percivati's mural will replace an aged one that depicts Garvan Woodland Gardens. The location was chosen after the owners of the building and the parking lot agreed to the project.
"This mural has been here for many years," Neilson said. "It's time for it to be replaced, and it's such a visible location that this was just determined as the ideal location for it."
When completed, the mural will be visible to northbound drivers and pedestrians in downtown Hot Springs.
The wall was pressure washed Friday in preparation for the mural. On Monday, Percivati will paint over the wall with primer, sketch his design, paint the wall and seal his final product with varnish.
Percivati said the process will take anywhere from 10 days to two weeks, depending on the elements.
"Even if it just looks like it's gonna rain, I can't even touch the mural," he said. "Hopefully, it'll be sunny."
Ken Wheatley, whose family owns one of the properties, said he expects the finished product to draw positive recognition.
"People are gonna say, 'This is a city of the arts,'" Wheatley said. "People are gonna reach out and say, 'Wow, you guys really did something unique.'"
Neilson said the mural will help better reflect the artistic nature of the Spa City. She agreed Hot Springs is an "arts town," and said Percivati's presence in the town is appreciated.
"It's just great to welcome Giuseppe here to our arts community, and to have a lasting piece of artwork here for us to enjoy, and to just really have another reason to promote Hot Springs as an arts destination," Neilson said.
Local on 06/10/2017