Go one way and you’ll see a boy with a surprised expression go the other to see a melancholy girl. “Larimer Boy and Girl” – Artist Jeremy Burns’ clever use of a building’s extruding fins means you can only observe the complete image by walking toward it from a distance. Find it on the east side of Larimer, between 25th and 26th streets. “Reverberations” – Trippy, concentric circles comprised of geometric patterns overtake an otherworldly landscape in this pulsating piece by Damon Soule and Justin Lovato. In that same spirit, it’s fitting that the district’s creative expression extends well beyond its galleries’ walls, with colorful and innovative street art around nearly every corner. One of Denver’s creative hubs, River North Art District (RiNo) leans heavily on its industrial past, preferring to revitalize historic warehouses and factories rather than tearing things down. Finally, artists regard the city’s walls and surfaces as living canvases, so don’t be surprised if you go looking for something listed below and find a new piece in its place. Please use common sense and don’t go traipsing into unfamiliar areas alone or at night. Also, street art, by its nature, is often found in alleyways, under bridges or in abandoned lots. Many of the works listed below were commissioned by businesses, events or communities, while others were unsanctioned paintings or graffiti - all are in the open air for anyone to view and enjoy. There are many more examples across the city - far more than we could possibly cover here - so be prepared to stumble across surprises along the way and in other neighborhoods throughout the city.Ī few things to note: We’re using the term “street art” fairly broadly here. Join Opinion on Facebook and follow updates on /roomfordebate.If you’re interested in tracking down thought-provoking murals, graffiti and street art in Denver, we invite you to embark on a tour of the areas and compositions listed below. Who knows? They might even be able to make a living doing what they love. Street art has become wildly marketable and is celebrated by institutions like the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of the City of New York, which has a show up this summer.īy encouraging kids to create art in this medium – and not just tag their names across walls – we could empower generations. The art world has already acknowledged the value of it. I, for one, would also rather see the creative outpouring of our youth on the walls instead of the billboards and advertising inflicted upon us around every corner. Somebody has to question the status quo – or we'll grow stagnant. A bit of rebellion is something we should champion as a society. My husband and I have to clean graffiti off of my property from time to time, but I see it as the price we all pay for urban living. Young kids who paint on the walls are screaming to be heard and, yes, we all started that way. If graffiti is inspiring, it's because it's fun, cool and does not take formal training. They say that artists like me and my husband just inspire young people to become vandals. This is all to say: Graffiti scares this city. They have over 800 cans of my spray-paint and they took almost a hundred books from my shelves. To this day the police have not returned my archives, CDs, photos or artwork. It could have been publicity around a book called ' We Own the Night' that features the work of about 100 street artists in an abandoned subway station: one page of artwork was wrongly attributed to my husband, Roger, who was arrested for graffiti when he was young. This was not the first time I had been raided by the police – I successfully fended off charges 10 years ago – but I don’t know what set it off this time. A mural by Lady Pink at the Bronx Museum.

Cool graffiti