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Ryan Christenson (known by the pseudonym ARCY) is an American graffiti artist and muralist from Connecticut. He has created numerous murals and live paintings throughout the United States, England, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Australia, and other locales.[1] Christenson's clients have included the Smithsonian Institution, Major League Baseball, and the National Park Service. He also creates work for Disney's Fine Art collection.[2] Recent work by ARCY includes his horse coliseum mural at the 2019 Big E,[3] and his 2020 Kobe Bryant mural for the super bowl in Miami.[4]
ARCY | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Ryan Christenson |
| Known for | |
| Style | |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Website | arcyofficial |
Early life and education
editRyan Christenson was born in Connecticut. While growing up, he worked for his father's lawn care business in Harwinton, Connecticut.[5] As a teenager, Christenson would go to New Haven to see new pieces of graffiti art there. He eventually joined the New Haven-based graffiti artist collective, the High Impact Crew.[6] Christenson graduated from Mark T. Sheehan High School in Wallingford[7] and attended Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury where he studied horticulture.[5] He was inducted into Sheehan High School's Hall of Fame in 2019.[8]
Career
editIn 2012, Christenson quit his father's landscaping business to start an art and design company called RC Murals. In the summer of 2015, he went on a tour where he first used the pseudonym, "ARCY"[6] (a play on his initials).[1] He painted 30 walls in the United States, Europe, and Canada.[6] In 2016, he continued traveling, painting murals and performing live painting demonstrations in the process. He created a 30 by 130-foot mural in Chicago and 7 works featuring local wildlife in Porter County, Indiana.[9] He also won the Mural Marathon in Reno, Nevada with his painting of a macaw.[10]
In 2017, he created an installation in Sydney, Australia and a mural in Waterford, Ireland. He also painted a mural of famed Hartford, Connecticut residents (Mark Twain, Samuel Colt, and Katharine Hepburn) in that city.[5] He again toured around the country painting murals and engaging in live painting demonstrations in locations like Helena, Montana,[11] various cities in Wyoming,[12] and at the East Texas State Fair.[13] His mural in Helena of a miner panning for gold was named one of the 50 best murals in the United States by Parade.[14] Also in 2017, Christenson began creating pieces for Disney's Fine Art collection[15] and had a permanent display at the Walt Disney Hometown Museum. He had previously inserted hidden Mickey Mouse ears in all of his works because his children enjoyed finding them.[5]
In 2018, he donated a mural portrait of Ella Fitzgerald to Manchester High School in Manchester, Connecticut. That was the first appearance on his ARCY Live! tour of the United States and Canada that year.[2] On that tour, he created a large-scale mural of Elvis Presley during Elvis Fest in Tupelo, Mississippi[15] and painted 15 live murals at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, Canada.[16] In April 2019, his graffiti art featuring notable sports figures and moments on the walls of Dan Patrick's "man cave" studio was unveiled on The Dan Patrick Show.[17] In August of that year, Christenson made an appearance at the Nebraska State Fair.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Bahr, Jeff (19 August 2019). "Artist wants to bring joy to the fair". Grand Island Independent. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ a b Leavenworth, Jesse (4 May 2018). "Street Artist ARCY Inspires At Manchester High". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ "Big E". Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ "Kobe mural". Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Ormseth, Matt (7 June 2017). "Jamie McDonald Enlists Street Artist To Paint Mural Of CT Icons At Chango Rosa". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ a b c Shkolnik, Daniel (6 November 2015). "Wall to Wall". Daily Nutmeg. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Godin, Mary Ellen (3 December 2018). "Graffiti artist paints historical mural at Meriden middle school". Record-Journal. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Philavong, Maxine (19 March 2019). "Sheehan High School revives hall of fame; four to be inducted". Record-Journal. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Earnshaw, Rob (10 August 2016). "Graffiti artist is tagging the Dunes". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Litz, Sarah (16 July 2016). "24-hour Mural Marathon 'bringing communities together'". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Neuman, Matt (30 June 2017). "International graffiti artist sprays mural on downtown parking garage". Helena Independent Record. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Conner, Elysia (12 June 2017). "Street artist brings larger than life murals, inspiration to Wyoming towns". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Purgahn, Chelsea (25 September 2017). "Artist live paints rainforest-themed murals each day of the East Texas State Fair". Tyler Morning Telegraph. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Luna, Kristin (26 July 2019). "Murals Across America: The Very Best Street Art in Every State". Parade. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ a b Carreon, Cristina (9 June 2018). "Large-scale live muralist to paint Reed's wall for Elvis Fest". Daily Journal. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Ip, Stephanie (25 August 2018). "Live mural artist commemorates PNE memories — and hidden Disney magic". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ Glasspiegel, Ryan (19 April 2019). "New Dan Patrick Show Man Cave Lives Up to the Hype". The Big Lead. Retrieved 19 August 2019.