The Fenway Art Walk

VHILS, 201 Brookline Ave

Portuguese visual artist Alexandre Farto aka VHILS has become renowned for developing a unique visual language based on the removal of the surface layers of walls with non-conventional tools and techniques. Like an archaeologist, he removes in order to expose, bringing to light the beauty that lies trapped beneath the rubble. 

Over several years of research and development, including numerous visits to The Fenway, VHILS composed this poignant and powerful mural inspired by historic women in life sciences. The portrait of Rosalind Franklin on the front face of the building is an homage to her crucial contribution in the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.

Nicole Eisenman, 401 Park Drive

Fountain (2017-2019) is one of Nicole Eisenman’s most significant and celebrated works to date. Located at 401 Park Drive, the installation features several monumental figures of bathers, situated in various positions of repose around a shallow pool of water—a contemporary ode to the art historical precedent of fountains and a social hub and life source for city dwellers.

Alexandre da Cunha, Pierce Boston

Keeping with the tradition of exploring existing materials, often with strong urban and industrial connotations, da Cunha’s work plays with ideas of the readymade and engages with the legacy of Modernism. Plaza (Arcade) is comprised of three distinctive concrete discs each with a different size aperture. For da Cunha, the work operates both as an extension of the urban landscape that surrounds it, as well as a distraction from that landscape. This piece was da Cunha’s first site-specific permanent public project in the United States, joining significant public commissions by the artist in the United Kingdom and Brazil.

Yellena James, 100 Van Ness Street

Yellena James creates colorful arrangements of organic shapes and tangled lines that are at once floral and alien, organic, and sci-fi. A large-scale installation of James’ Reflection III will wrap the second story of 100 Van Ness Street.

Each intimate world she creates seems to possess its own ethos and its own special ability to radiate emotion. They convey the intersection of culture and environmentalism, a core value of PangeaSeed Foundation artists, whose collective work seeks to further the conservation of our oceans through Science, Education, and ARTivism (S.E.A).

“You are meant to see hints of yourself within the delicate ecosystem that is teeming with life. My hope is to instill a sense that we are all a part of that ecosystem, as though our actions will impact it. Because they will,” James says.

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Dragon76, Alleyway between 120-126 Brookline Ave.

As part of the “Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans” 2021 program, Japanese contemporary artist Dragon76’s original large-scale ocean advocacy mural will adorn the iconic passthrough wall connecting Brookline Avenue and Van Ness Street. The concept of his art style is the coexistence of two opposites, such as past and future, stillness and motion, evil and justice. By bringing the oceans into the streets, Dragon76 inspires interest in marine protections – a critical issue facing waterfront cities like Boston and his hometown of Shiga, Japan.

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Previously on view.

Rob Stull, 86-88 Van Ness Street

Boston-based illustrator, curator, and comic book industry veteran Rob Stull has created an original installation for The Fenway Art Walk. Inspired by Hip-Hop culture and the “humble beginnings” of his youth, Stull’s illustration gives a nod to “the most dominant and expressive creative platform for artists, visionaries and trailblazers.”

“This expression is a celebration of our collective presence,” says Stull.

In addition to working through his own studio, Ink on Paper, he has worked over two decades for every major publisher in the industry, including Marvel and DC Comics. Currently an MFA Artist in Residence, his Tribute Drawings on display at the Museum celebrate five artists whose “contributions to the culture…inspire future generations” and more deeply connect contemporary fine art into The Fenway’s essence.

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Rotating Artwork by Fenway Studios, Space 120 and 96 Van Ness St.

Kicking off a collaboration with artist cooperative and designated National Historic Landmark Fenway Studios, work by Mary Hughes will be on display at Space 120 until August 31. A Boston-based and educated artist who exhibits locally and regionally, Hughes draws inspiration from architecture and the texture of the city in her oil paintings.

Other Fenway Studios artists will be on rotation at Space 120 later this year.