KAF’s recently-opened venues, The Sovereign and The Key, are not only spaces to enjoy great music, drinks and food, but are now also part of The Walls Off Washington, thanks to two new murals by legendary artists Kenny Scharf and Brock Seals.
Los Angeles-based artist Scharf returned to St. Louis to create a new mural titled “Kranzbergville: Forever and Ever For Eva to Infinity ∞” on the side of the Sovereign—a riff on his existing mural, “Kranzbergville,” across the street on the side of High Low. The new mural features a village of faces, gestures, and fluttering butterflies (named Mothra and Mothro), reflecting humanity’s joys, storms, and hope. Each figure and each color stretches toward infinity in a vision of reflection, renewal, responsibility and boundless possibility.
Scharf’s inimitable graffiti paintings gained him notoriety and fame in the New York downtown art scene of the 1980s, where he developed close friendships with other notable artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. He has painted street murals across the country and around the world from New York to L.A., Miami, Philadelphia, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Denmark and more.
“Every project I undertake is building on my past experiences. One very important and guiding principle to my work is to reach out beyond the elitist boundaries of fine art and connect to popular culture through my art,” Scharf says of his work.
As construction began on The Key, KAF approached Seals, a renowned St. Louis-based artist and musician, about creating a mural for the back of the historic building. “At the time, I’d been working on a lot of music to get people to move and dance, so it was the perfect chance for me to illustrate what I was making musically in an art form,” Seals says.
The mural, titled “The Way We Move,” recalls decades of different dances and movements, from 1950s-60s swing all the way up to present day dance moves — inviting visitors to keep moving and celebrate the enduring heartbeat of this new space. A backlit mini-version of the mural hangs inside the venue’s elevated lounge and gallery.
“To have that same energy living inside of the building is super dope and I love to see it every time I’m in there,” says Seals.”
Guided by KAF trustee and co-curator Mary Ann Srenco, alongside artists and countless collaborators, every façade in The Walls Off Washington honors what has been built, fortifies what remains, and celebrates the dreams still to come.
“What a tribute to STL and to the unwavering vision of The Walls off Washington, that international legend Kenny Scharf and St. Louis’ own regional force of creativity, Brock Seals, have lifted new murals this month that awaken our senses, lift our spirits, and celebrate the rhythm, resilience, and imagination woven into this neighborhood,” says KAF Director and Chief Curator of Visual and Literary Arts Gina Grafos.
