In what’s been shaping up as the biggest week for art in the Magic City since Art Basel Miami, the days leading up to Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium have witnessed a deluge of street art around town. It’s all been part of a welcome mat roll out for the big game in which the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers (13-3) face off against the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs (12-4).
Some four new murals have sprung up in various locations thanks to an initiative led by real estate developer Jessica Goldman Srebnick, who is a member of the Super Bowl host committee. Some of street art’s big names are participating, and the results certainly grab your attention.
Photograph: Mike Russell, courtesy Goldman Global Arts
One example covers nearly the whole side of the 34-story Citigroup bank building in downtown Miami. The work of Chilean artist Dasic Fernandez, it depicts a multi-cultural crowd of football fans surrounding the coveted Lombardi Trophy awarded to the winning Super Bowl team. The image was based on a painting that was subsequently digitized and printed on vinyl panels hung on the facade.
Photograph: Mike Russell, courtesy Goldman Global Arts
In nearby Bayfront Park, veteran tagger Kelly Graval—aka RISK—has created a billboard covered in NFL team colors with SUPER BOWL LIV superimposed in huge letters he designed on his computer.
Photograph: Mike Russell, courtesy Goldman Global Arts
Over at the Miami Beach Convention Center, New Jersey native Joe Iurato has installed cut-out scenes in black-and-white that picture historical moments in the history of the NFL, which celebrated its centennial during the 2019 season. Another mural on view at the Convention Center features a two-story image of 32 balloons by Denver artist Kelsey Montague, which bears the logos of 32 teams that make up the league. Meanwhile, across the bay in Wynwood, Juan Travieso has created a monumental tribute to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman on a wall at the corner of NW Second Avenue and NW 26th Street.
Photograph: Mike Russell, courtesy Goldman Global Arts
The street art vibe even extends to the game itself: The tickets to Super Bowl LIV were designed by Los Angeles artist Tristan Eaton, who also created a 9-foot tall, fiberglass sculpture of the Lombardi Trophy covered in brightly colored, stylized scenes of Miami. It will be greeting fans at the stadium entrance when the game gets ready to kick off on Sunday.
Photograph: Mike Russell, courtesy Goldman Global Arts
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