1133 Baum Ave N

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. . .

The bright fluorescent splash of gigantic citrus fruit, sliced in half to reveal rippling, textured segments, sparks the quiet side street at 1133 Baum Avenue North.

Nestled between busy 1st Avenue North and bustling Central Avenue, this block is quiet. But between the brick and concrete walls, Angela Faustina’s gaping hemispheres of enormous oranges, lemons, grapefruits and limes glow red, purple, yellow, green, magenta and orange.

Citrus Medley is painted on two halves of a wall, separated by a wide and aging sliding gate that’s painted black, with a small hole on the left and two broken slats on the right. Each section of the mural is 7 feet high and 16 feet long.

Both halves of the mural are crammed with giant citrus fruit sliced horizontally in half, so that each half forms a circle with ruffled edges, like flower petals.

“Capturing juicy pulp at the peak of ripeness highlights the beauty and vibrancy of life,” Angela explains.

The fruit is enormous – oranges and lemons three or four feet high, and startling gigantic limes like blown-up close-up photos. Each section of the mural is dominated by a grapefruit half the size of a small car.

The section on the left finds a magenta grapefruit tilted back, its upper left corner partly covered by a tangerine, and beside it, a lemon. Covering the lower right edge of the grapefruit is the top half of a vibrant orange, rising up from the sidewalk. In the upper right corner, a deep red blood orange glows, surrounded by oranges and limes.

The section on the right finds an oversized lemon, an enormous orange and a massive magenta grapefruit arcing side by side across the top. At the base, half of a flamboyant crimson blood orange rises into the picture, jammed between a lemon and a lime. One lone, peeled piece of an orange, teeters on the edge of the orange’s wide peel.

Both sides of the mural include Angela Faustina’s name in stylized white capital letters, shadowed in black. She painted this mural in 9 days, using only a brush.

Angela Faustina grew up in South Florida and the colors she uses in her work reflect that. Based in Atlanta, she’s known for oversized fruit paintings. This is her largest work to date. 

 

Watch a video of Angela Faustina at work during SHINE 2018

 

Explore the work of Angela Faustina at angelafaustina.com

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