Italian artist Manuel de Rita a.k.a. Peeta (previously) painted recently this extraordinary mural for the newly established GNV Urban Art LLC, a new project organised by Ukrainian born curator Iryna Kanishcheva in Gainesville, Florida.
Kanishcheva, former curator of Art United Us, one of the biggest mural projects in the world that took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, and the founder of the first Urban arts program in North Florida, 352walls, started a new chapter with GNV Urban Art LLC, and starting with high quality urban art like Peetas.
Peeta’s mural is characteristic of his work, transforming the static structure of the building into a surreal abstract composition that seem to pop out of the wall. This technique is derived from the traditional three-dimensional lettering he grew up with, and continues to evolve as he experiments with realistic objects, like the window that protrudes from the brown palette shown here.
The work is inspired by the surrounding environment, the colors, the light, the sky, the activities and people living the place, its cultural and social background in a somehow scientific approach as in any anamorphic piece, the work needs to be has to be precisely distorted by geometrically studying it in order to provide the proper effect from the right point of view.
“Initially, my works only realized the sculptural quality of individual letters, namely the ones that spelled out my own moniker Peeta,” he says in an artist statement. “Progressively, the fusion between traditional lettering and three-dimensional style has given life to a unique kind of visual rhythm. Today, through my anamorphic works I redesign the volumes of any kind of surface involved, thus causing with my paintings a temporary interruption of normality by altering the perception of familiar contexts, and so raising a different understanding of spaces and, consequently, of reality as a whole.”
About the artist
Peeta, also known as Manuel Di Rita, is a graffiti artist since 1993 currently living in Venice, Italy. He is a member of the EAD crew (Padova, Italy), FX and RWK crews (New York City) and has participated, over the years, in jams, festivals and art shows all over the world. His work explores the potential of sculptural lettering and anamorphism, both in painting and in sculpture.
About GNV URBAN ART LLC
Since 2015, The GNV Urban Art website [gnvurbanart.com] has informed Gainesville about all relevant urban art activities. It is a liaison between artists and community that supports, promotes, and administers outstanding public art events with the goals of beautification, restoration, and raising awareness. GNV URBAN ART LLC is operated by University of Florida MBA Candidate Iryna Kanishcheva. The inspiration, passion, international networking and years of experience led her to establish innovative projects in Florida and her home country, Ukraine.
“I’ve been dreaming about creating a mural on this property for three years, since my curation of 352walls. It became a reality thanks to Ryan S. Frankel who provided generous donation as well as Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency matching grant. I am grateful for the opportunity provided by Joseph Semrani, owner of the 204 Building, to use his building as a canvas. I invited internationally recognized Italian artist Peeta who transformed its architecture using just paint and brush. Through this mural, I want to demonstrate that borders are not always limited by only lines we see. With some effort and imagination, we can achieve more than seems to be possible. This is the first mural production that I managed totally myself and under my newly established company GNV Urban Art LLC.” – Iryna Kanishcheva
More info about the artist on: Website | Facebook | Instagram
GNV Urban Art: Website | Facebook | Instagram
We wish Iryna and GNV Urban Art the best!
Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
