Fort Worth Public Art - Featured Project

FEATURED PROJECTS . . .

Western Heritage Parking Garage Murals

Fort Worth’s history as a pioneering “Cowtown” became the guiding theme in Mike Mandel’s artwork for the new Western Heritage Parking Garage located on Gendy Street in the Cultural District. Mandel’s mosaics individually titled, Rodeo, A Hispanic Voice, Cowgirl, Cowboy, Stockshow, and An African American Tradition, include four 33-foot-by-9-foot tall vertical glass and porcelain mosaics installed on the garage exterior, two smaller horizontal tile murals installed over the entrance to the garage. Soon, a series of porcelain enamel plaques that detail the people and history behind the images will be installed inside the main entrance lobby.

Through the use of archived photographs from local cultural institutions, as well as photographs taken by Mandel of the Will Rogers Coliseum architecture, he has created iconic images of individuals and events that portray the spirit of Fort Worth’s heritage.

In a proprietary process developed by Mandel, each of his tile murals begins as a photographic collage that he enlarges and pixilates. Each pixel in the overall design is then translated into one-inch porcelain or glass tiles. The mosaic murals are fabricated by hand in the artist’s studio and installed by a skilled team overseen by the artist.

About the Artist

A nationally recognized artist based in Watertown, Massachusetts, Mandel is known for his dramatically scaled photographic tile mural commissions, which grace facilities including the Charlotte Arena, Charlotte, NC; the San Francisco International Airport; 8^th District Police Station, Chicago, IL; and the Jones SBC Stadium, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. He has received numerous grants and awards, including a MacDowell Fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship, and the James D. Phelan Award. Mandel holds an MFA in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute a BA in Philosophy from California State University, Northridge.


		FEATURED PROJECTS . . . Western Heritage Parking Garage Murals Fort Worth’s history as a pioneering “Cowtown” became the guiding theme in Mike Mandel’s artwork for the new Western Heritage Parking Garage located on Gendy Street in the Cultural District. Mandel’s mosaics individually titled, Rodeo, A Hispanic Voice, Cowgirl, Cowboy, Stockshow, and An African American Tradition, include four 33-foot-by-9-foot tall vertical glass and porcelain mosaics installed on the garage exterior, two smaller horizontal tile murals installed over the entrance to the garage. Soon, a series of porcelain enamel plaques that detail the people and history behind the images will be installed inside the main entrance lobby. Through the use of archived photographs from local cultural institutions, as well as photographs taken by Mandel of the Will Rogers Coliseum architecture, he has created iconic images of individuals and events that portray the spirit of Fort Worth’s heritage. In a proprietary process developed by Mandel, each of his tile murals begins as a photographic collage that he enlarges and pixilates. Each pixel in the overall design is then translated into one-inch porcelain or glass tiles. The mosaic murals are fabricated by hand in the artist’s studio and installed by a skilled team overseen by the artist. About the Artist A nationally recognized artist based in Watertown, Massachusetts, Mandel is known for his dramatically scaled photographic tile mural commissions, which grace facilities including the Charlotte Arena, Charlotte, NC; the San Francisco International Airport; 8^th District Police Station, Chicago, IL; and the Jones SBC Stadium, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. He has received numerous grants and awards, including a MacDowell Fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship, and the James D. Phelan Award. Mandel holds an MFA in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute a BA in Philosophy from California State University, Northridge.
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