A few years back, the facade of a house in Palermo received a makeover, by way of a mural for Coca Cola being painted on it. The owner had given permission for a local artist to paint the mural as part of their branding campaign, but on the understanding that once a year was up, the artist would come back and paint something new.

Once their time was up, their advert was replaced by a strange a controversial mural by Ever. Continuing his exploration of the aesthetics of Chinese propaganda, Ever painted a piece depicting the communist visions of Chairman Mao, besides two children looking towards the Virgin Mary. Unbeknownst to Ever, he inadvertently represented Mary using the iconic image of the Virgin de Guadalupe. The church of the Virgin de Guadalupe was just a few blocks away. The Pastor and parishioners were unimpressed and threatened retaliation, but the piece remained untouched for over a year.

The owner of the house decided to make his property into a public art space, and invite local artist Mart was invited to paint a new mural. Having whitewashed the wall, Mart made the interesting choice to create a monochromatic piece. A glance at the street art and gallery works featured on Mart’s website, flickr & facebook makes it clear that he has a serious love affair with color, so it was surprising to see him create an extraordinary detailed piece using just one colour of aerosol. The effect is striking, and calls attention to Mart’s mastery of aerosol and his unconventional techniques.

As a young artist with little money to spend on materials, Mart learned how to make the most of every drop of paint he had access to. Whilst his contemporaries used aerosol for block fills and colour gradients he became proficient at painting clean narrow lines, creating delicate pieces with subtle details.

Mart’s latest piece is a beautiful example of how a city’s context and environment can influence its art. Mart has grown up in a city with an abundance of walls to paint, and a tolerance towards public art. The limiting factor to him painting was his lack of access to materials. This limitation drove him to experiment with unorthodox painting techniques, and develop a striking freehand style. With just a few cans of one single colour Mart has created a huge and beautiful work of art, showcasing his skills and paying tribute to the  barrio which has nurtured his talents.