New murals add color to Rochester

John Molseed, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Oct. 25—ROCHESTER — Maggie Panetta took advantage of a warm, if windy, Sunday to bring one of her pieces of public art another step toward completion.

Panetta is painting a mural on the north wall of Garden Party Books, 602 Seventh St. NW. The mural, started last year, depicts classic books on a shelf.

"There won't be many more chances this year to get this done," Panetta said.

Panetta worked Sunday to finish stenciling the book titles on each of the book spine panels. Other details will likely be added later, she said.

"I'll feel like it's closer to done when I get the stencils done," she said.

This year has been another productive year for public art projects. In May,

an indoor mural designed by artist June Le

depicting a portrait of Rochester was completed with community help. Simon Huelsbeck completed a mural on the 700 block of First Ave. NE on the west wall of the Rochester Repertory Theatre building, 103 Seventh St. NE. Last week, Cassandra Buck was joined by volunteers to paint

a mural at Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park

.

Artists have taken advantage of public arts grants from local RNeighbors money to federal funding through the CARES Act — Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security grants made available in 2020.

Can you guess where each of these public art murals is located? Here are five works of art. Good luck.

Willow Gentile painted the mural, "One Ecosystem," in 2020 with funding from a CARES grant. Gentile is a busy artist and completed another public mural this year with a vibrant peacock on the side of

Camilla and Me in Frontenac, Minnesota

.

"Resilience and Joy" was another piece created in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. in the midst of isolating lockdowns. Artist Cassandra Buck created the work that now faces the new location of her Clover and Rose Boutique.

A grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board funded the creation of a mural by artist and RCTC art instructor Simon Huelsbeck. It invokes classical art themes in a three dimensional scope using an art technique called Trompe-l'œil, which is French for "trick of the eye."

Jenna Whiting created "Mythoscope," a colorful array of mythical creatures, with funding from the CARES Act in 2020.

"Night at the Movies" was created by artist Maggie Panetta in 2020 with CARES funding. It depicts iconic figures from classic films with one Minnesota music icon emblem thrown in for good measure.