New 20-Story Mural On The City Skyline Is Now Westchester's Largest

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle's mural arts have made the city a destination for aficionados of the larger-than-life medium, but the biggest "unveiling" yet only recently took place.

It's hard to miss, but the newest public art installation commissioned by BRP Companies is worth a double-take. "From the Source" by Artist Na’ye Perez is now Westchester County’s largest mural, soaring 20 stories high, on the north façade of 500 Main Street in New Rochelle.

Perez set out to create a mural "that embodies the day to day and presence of Black joy and aims to honor the stories and history of Black and Brown communities of New Rochelle."

"The mural is depicted as a collage reminiscing my body of work of paintings and drawings. The works selected to create the mural are mixed media works that use traditional materials such as charcoal, chalk, conte, and acrylic paints alongside found materials such as brown papers, discarded plastic, lino block prints, and gel transfers of communities within New Rochelle," according to the artist's statement. "While the final mural will be a reproduction and not incorporate those materials themselves, I wanted to emulate those woven usages of materials and stories. The works will speak to the narrative of the city that these cherished residents are apart and contribute to. The narratives shown are born out of love for my community and family, exploring day-to-day moments of life, emphasizing Black and Brown presence as intimacy, care, love, and resilience."

The mural was hand-painted by Colossal Media over the past two months. In 2004, Colossal was founded with the mission to resurrect the craft of hand-painted outdoor advertising. The company is founded by, built by, and led by artists. Colossal said it uses the same process for mural painting that Michelangelo used to paint the Sistine Chapel, and strives to combine long forgotten art practices with modern art-focused tech.

Started and based in Brooklyn, Colossal Media has a 20-year-old hand-paint operation with seven generations of sign painter knowledge passed down through the years.

The mural spans nearly the entire height of 500 Main Street, a new 26-story residential building developed by BRP. When completed, the property will have studio, one and two-bedroom apartments above a five-story parking garage. The firm built a reputation for developing mixed-use, mixed-income, "walkable" urban housing with high-quality, and energy-efficient properties in New York City and beyond.

Seven Willow Collaborative, a real estate and cultural advisory firm, together with Suzanne Geiss, led the project’s curatorial project management after being engaged by 500 Main Street and its developer BRP Companies to fulfill the City of New Rochelle’s Private Art Betterment requirement and help add vibrancy to a downtown New Rochelle on the rise.