- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Denver and help keep the future of Westword free.
The tenth Crush Walls is in full swing in and around the River North Art District. The festival began on Labor Day weekend and wraps up on Sunday, September 8. Nearly ninety new murals are going up this week throughout the neighborhood, including some on Larimer Street, in alleyways and under bypasses — most by Denver artists.
Part of the fun of Crush is seeing works in progress, and here are five pieces we're excited to watch artists complete over the weekend.
EXPANDChromaj, Zehb and Plezo
Larimer Street alley at 29th Street
While the official Crush map mentions only the collaboration between Zehb and Plezo on this wall behind Erico Motorsports, it's actually a collaborative effort between multiple artists. Zehb and Chromaj bookend the wall by paying tribute to elders and strong women.
EXPANDTribal Murals
Larimer Street alley and 26th Street
Facing 26th Street in the Larimer Street alley is a tribute to sacred land, rituals and geometry. Tribal Murals is filling the entire wall with indigenous imagery, color and composition.
EXPANDWe Were Wild
Alley behind Matthew Morris Salon and Skincare
2644 Walnut Street
The creation of this colorful mural has been a joy to watch evolve behind Matthew Morris Salon and Skincare. After creating an outline of undulating waves, We Were Wild has since filled in aqua blues, greens, oranges and purples, and added wheat pasted columns with architectural imagery that contrasts the curving, rising and falling patterns.
Ashley Joon
Lustre Pearl
1315 26th Street
Surrounded by her smaller canvas pieces, Ashley Joon keeps herself grounded in her style for this brush-painted floral wall behind Lustre Pearl — a piece that complements the restaurant's patio.
EXPANDLuis Valle
Alley Behind Dateline Gallery
3004 Larimer Street
Nicaraguan artist Luis Valle's contribution — a striking image of a mother and child contrasting the black wall its painted on — looks close to finished. This building will also be graced by a new work by Sara Molano.
Crush Walls continues through Sunday, September 8, throughout the River North Art District. Events and more information on artists and walls can be found at crushwalls.org.
Let us know about your favorite piece at editorial@westword.com.
Keep Westword Free... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls.
