Edo Rosenblith’s mural turns concrete barricades into works of art

Edo Rosenblith’s latest mural, Welcome to the CWE (Red and Blue), which the artist describes as “Talumudic, but in a funny way,” covers 11 concrete “Jersey” barricades that were placed around Evangeline’s and Cocina Latina for 2021’s Dining in the Streets.  The barricades were dropped off in late Spring and since they will remain in place until Fall, the CWE North Community Improvement District‘s board and Executive Director Kate Haher decided to turn them into public art and commissioned artist Edo Rosenblith to come up with some designs.

Edo is known around the CWE for his permanent exhibitions at TechArtista, a showing at Houska Gallery, World Chess Hall of Fame’s recent Keith Haring Exhibition, and a temporary exhibit at projects+gallery.It took Edo about a month to complete the project. First he prepped the barricades with a concrete primer, then rolled them with red and blue outdoor paint.  The black and white acrylic paint he used to paint the mural is from a German brand called Molotow, which dries fast and can be applied to almost any surface.Edo erected traffic stops to protect him from traffic, and an umbrella for shade whenever he worked on the mural. He said that “two people yelled at him for blocking traffic, but most people were nice and quick to give out complimentary gestures or kind words about his work.”“All the people depicted in the mural are totally fabricated,” he said, “with one exception. I included a self-portrait on the blue wall at the entry on the corner of Euclid and Washington.“Everything was made up on the spot,” Edo said, “though the characters are named after people in my family or figures from pop culture.”

Edo got a big laugh when an older gentleman smoking a cigar walked by and asked if Edo was a famous artist, and if so, did he sell NFT’s (non-fungible tokens).Remember that Welcome to the CWE (Red and Blue) is totally improvised, so keep that in mind as you look at it.I asked Kate Haher if the installation would be returned to the corner of Euclid and Washington next Spring. “Unfortunately,” she said, “the rental company will pick the barricades up in the fall and after that, I don’t know what will become of Welcome to the CWE (Red and Blue).”  That’s really too bad, so enjoy it while you can (but watch for traffic!).

To learn more about Edo Rosenblith’s art, visit his website.