The Richmond Mural Project – https://rvamag.comarticles/full/24296/etam-cru-returns-for-richmond-mural-project-2016-along-with-local-and – is back for 2015, and we’re here to help you learn more about
The Richmond Mural Project – https://rvamag.comarticles/full/24296/etam-cru-returns-for-richmond-mural-project-2016-along-with-local-and – is back for 2015, and we’re here to help you learn more about the artist who will be adding to RVA’s already world-class collection of murals. Below is a profile of one of the RMP 2015 artists. Keep an eye out for the rest in the coming weeks, and make sure you come out for the RMP 2015 opening party July 18th 4-8pm at Sabai – 2727 West Broad st.
See a mural you like? put it on Instagram and tag us in it – then use the hashtag #RMP2015 and the person with the most murals tagged at the end of the festival will win an original piece of art by RMP Artists.
Muralist: Evoca1
Painting: July 13-20th at 727 W. Clay Street
The now Florida-based artist, Evoca1, could have fooled anyone if he never professed to being an autodidact.
That’s right, the figurative painter, muralist and designer never had any formal education or training in the arts. “Everything from mixing colors and paint texture to spraying and painting, Evoca1 taught himself,” according to Widewalls Online. “Considering the lack of artistic education his artistic finesse is extraordinary.”
Like many artists, Evoca1 was drawn to the creative world of art from a very young age. Born in the Dominican Republic, he spent the first 11 years of his life there before moving to Florida, etching giant characters into the walls of his bedroom and filling his notebooks with his obvious talent.
“My teachers tried to persuade my mother to enroll me into art school, but we grew up in really poor conditions and under those circumstances in the Dominican Republic, you either play baseball or work construction,” he said in an interview with En Masse. “So I spent most of my life playing baseball. Until I was fed up and decided to pursue a creative field.”
And that he did, on his own dollar and watch until 2011 when he participated in his first group show for Art Basel. This was also the same time Evoca1 had the chance to work on his first “street-legal wall,” after which he says “the rest was history.”
The artist’s own history is one of many factors that influence his work. Evoca1’s passion exploring implicit societal truth is apparent in his provocative and moving images “reflecting inner struggles and emotions resulting from the limitations and oppression of society over individuals as consequences of poverty, inequality, and privation of freedom,” according to The ReArt.
Much of Evoca1’s work appears to be symbolism rooted in the despondency which is often inherent within the confines of society. “Birds seem to be symbols of a freedom that is almost out of reach for the less fortunate, while wolves rather act as obstacles between man and his dreams or goals for a better life,” the site continued. “Therefore, the pursuit of happiness is merely an illusion, constantly threatened by what divides us — the hunger for money and power, despite the suffering of the other.”
This fervor to proliferate social understanding extends beyond his depictions which can be seen in different cities around the world. In 2010, the philanthropic artist established the Sketches for Mankind Project which was conceived as a way to raise awareness to important local and world issues through art, while raising funds for those in need in our community, according to the Evoca1’s website.
He, along with the help of his wife and friends began the project which soon after its start, extended to include a monthly 3rd Sunday for hunger event. The third Sunday of every month, Sketches for Mankind works to feed the homeless of the Downtown Miami area.
