A pair of Baltimore artists have started work on a mural of abstract shapes that will take up a 400-foot-long concrete wall at the edge of downtown Bethesda.
Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn began painting the mural this week on the surface along the east side of Arlington Road near Bradley Boulevard that acts as a retaining wall for the Capital Crescent Trail.
Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn start painting a mural on a 400-foot-long concrete wall along Arlington Road, via Bethesda Urban Partnership
Unterhalter and Truhn, who have done mural projects in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City, were among the 50 artists who submitted mural proposals to the Bethesda Urban Partnership (BUP). BUP and its Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District will give Unterhalter and Truhn $15,000 to complete the work after putting out a call for proposals in June.
Stephanie Coppula, a spokesperson for BUP, said the two will paint a colorful abstract mural featuring geometric shapes and similar to many of their recent projects.
Coppula said the two should complete the work in about two or three weeks, depending on the weather. They won’t be able to paint if it’s raining.
The wall reaches a height of about 10 feet and is located across from a Safeway grocery store at the southern entrance to downtown Bethesda. The project was one of the public amenity requirements of Safeway’s redevelopment in 2012.
A committee of Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District members selected Unterhalter and Truhn. All artists who submitted bids had to include renderings.
