5280 Magazine – August 2019

AUGUST 2019 | 5280 | (^105)
CRUSHING
IT
CALLING CARDS
The impermanence of street art means we can’t tell you
where exactly you’ll f ind specif ic works, but many artists
repeat design elements, and hunting for them is half the fun.
As you move throughout Denver,
you might get the feeling you’re
being watched—by a Japanese
warrior woman, almost always in
red, white, and black. She peeks
around columns under highways
and peers down from RiNo ware-
house walls. Don’t be alarmed;
her creator, Casey Kawaguchi,
a self-taught street artist who
works entirely freehand and has
been evolving his nameless char-
acter for almost a decade, says
her fight is with him. “More and
more, she somehow is a repre-
sentation of myself,” Kawaguchi
says, noting that she increasingly
wields a paintbrush in place of a
sword. “In any creative pursuit, I
feel like there’s
this battle;
there’s a part
of yourself you
have to get out
of the way.”
Kawaguchi,
who grew up
near Salt Lake City, says he’s
influenced not only by his
samurai ancestors and Japa-
nese heritage, but also by the
collaborations he’s been doing
since he moved to Denver four
years ago. For 2015’s CRUSH,
local artist EaseOne invited
Kawaguchi onto his wall, and the
two have worked together every
year since. “I enjoy collabora-
tions for the kind of surprise end
to the piece,” Kawaguchi says.
“You trust your friend’s work and
you get to see your stuff mingle
with that in a way you wouldn’t
have imagined it.”
The 36-year-old’s contempla-
tive nature caught the attention
of independent filmmaker David
Kaufman, who released a short
documentary called Mastery
that followed the artist through
CRUSH 2017; the pair hopes to
put out a follow-up in time for
this year’s festival. “It’s coming
into focus—this character, who
she is, the whole story,” Kawagu-
chi says. Street art fans need only
stop and look around to follow
along. @caseykawaguchi
eCasey
Kawaguchi
A
R
TI
S
T
S
P
O
TL
IG
H
T
“It’s coming into
focus
—
this character,
who she is, the
whole story.”
Growing up in Globeville, Anthony Gar-
cia Sr. put up unsanctioned graffiti, but
today he works to get kids involved in
community-building forms of street art
through his nonprofit, BirdSeed Collec-
tive. His colorful, serape-inspired work
brightens everything from dumpsters in
Sun Valley to the re-
designed intersection
of Sixth Avenue and
Federal Boulevard.
@birdseedanthony
eKiriLeigh Jones, a
California transplant,
is known for her
intricate mandalas;
sometimes they stand
alone, and other times
the detailing fills in letters, animals, or
wings. @kirileigh7
A graffiti writer who got his start in Den-
ver in the ’90s, Tuke turned to art to get
through nearly 10 years in prison for drug-
dealing offenses. After his release in 2016,
he reconnected with the DF Crew—one
of a handful of long-standing “crews,” or
groups of artists who work together, in
the Mile High City—and began landing
commissions. Look for his relatively read-
able four-letter signature. @tukeone
The founders of Like Minded Produc-
tions, Michael Ortiz and Jonathan Lamb
(who also works with his wife, Lindz),
began painting murals—often, colorful
geometric patterns on
black backgrounds—
in Denver more than a
decade ago. @illson,
@lindzandlamb
eMembers of the
Ladies Fancywork
Society have been
yarn-bombing fences,
public artwork, and
trees around the city
since 2007. As part of last year’s fest, they
installed a creature called Tina atop the
Matchbox. @ladiesfancyworksociety
Meeg Conroy paints whimsical, stylized
animals—most often, her signature fox—
under the moniker Miss Meeg. For 2018’s
CRUSH Walls, she rendered six Denver
artists as critters then put QR codes on
walls nearby that led viewers to recorded
interviews with the subjects. @miss.meeg
So-Gnar Creative Division, an artist col-
laborative spearheaded by Pat Milbery
and Pat McKinney, is responsible for the
Instagram favorite “Love This City” series
of murals. Vibrant hues and animals often
mark the group’s work, which can be
found on walls, wine bottles, and
even the school
bus they use to tote
supplies. @so_gnar
creativedivision
fDenver muralist
Patrick Kane Mc-
Gregor frequently
includes his late
bulldog, Boug, in
his works. @patrick
kanemcgregor
Known for pop art–esque murals that
reference hot-button issues, longtime
Denver artist Scot Lefavor painted
a piece in September featuring then
SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh and
Christine Blasey Ford. He changed the ac-
companying text, “This is not justice,” to
“no justice” and whitewashed Ford after
Kavanaugh’s confirmation. @scotlefavor
Koko Bayer, who’s been wheatpasting
in Denver since 2015, honors her grand-
father—Bauhaus master and onetime
Aspen resident Herbert Bayer—by using
his creations, including “Bright Lips”
from a 1940 Harper’s Bazaar cover, in her
graphic designs, which crop up on walls,
shipping containers,
and doors.
@kokonofilter
fChris Haven’s
pyramid characters
can be found all
over his hometown
engaging in various
forms of mischief.
@chrishaven
UC Sepia’s cast of female characters
(whom she calls “ozjuahzians”) have an
Alice In Wonderland feel, with white
faces and long lashes. @ozjuahsepia
A muted color palette and a bearded
figure named Cutty will help you
identify murals by Colorado’s Jaime
Molina and Pedro Barrios, aka the
Worst Crew. @the.worst.crew m
ON THE WEB
Visit 5280.
com for an
expanded list
of artists.