CONTACT:

CELL:
EMAIL:

Eden Laurin
630.781.9035
edenlaurin@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GRAFFUTURISM (FINALLY) COMES TO CHICAGO

A new facade mural redefines the future of street art in the Midwest.
Chicago, IL - Chicago-based artist and architect Christophe Gausparro has taken over the facade of Chicagos famed
Violet Hour for the month of July. This new art project is currently under construction and will be completed July 10.
This endeavor embraces a new artistic genre that many call Graffuturism. By combining the raw aspects of street art with
a more sophisticated high art sensibility, Graffuturism attempts to break out of the traditional labels known within graffiti art.
It often involves complex layering and form fracturing with an emphasis on dynamic movement, color theory, and non-figurative abstraction. Graffuturism has been sweeping the urban landspaces of many European cities, often covering entire
buildings with gorgeous gestures that showcase street art as something more reminiscent of museums than back alleys.
Graffuturism has barely scratched the surface in North America, rarely found anywhere outside of the California...until now.
The Violet Hour - a speakeasy in the heart of Wicker Park - is known to many as the Midwests pioneer of the craft cocktail
movement. With no signage and a concealed door, it continues to lead the industry with innovative mixology and a sultry
candle-lit interior. Here, Christophe Gausparro creates a 35-foot long, site-specific artwork that integrates the artists trademark characteristics - symbolic narrative, 3-D collaging, and working outside the frame. However, this particular composition strives to make a larger symbolic statement, which addresses Chicagos current gun violence problem. For years,
Christophe scoured thrift stores in Chicagos underserved communities, collecting hundreds of toy guns and integrating
them into his artwork. He believes that by removing the notion of the gun as a play object from at-risk youth, gun violence
can be reduced at a foundational level. In this facade mural, Christophe has taken these guns, broken them apart, and
transforms them into an almost Seuss-ian forest of trees, alluding to a return to nature. Christophe hopes this hope-filled
statement inspires passerbys to help conquer larger societal problems in their own way.
On display until early August, Christophe Gausparros mural can be found at 1520 North Damen in Chicagos Wicker Park.
www.Christophe-Gausparro.squarespace.com
www.TheVioletHour.com
www.graffuturism.com