New Public Art
There isn’t a lot of good news coming out of the Bethesda Metro station lately, but a public art project that splashed a colorful mural over the plaza and bus bay makes the drab transit stop a bit more beautiful. The mural is the second installment in the “Paint the Town” initiative, which promotes public art in downtown Bethesda and was sponsored by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, a division of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. Juan Pineda of Adelphi, Maryland, created the Mayan-inspired mural, which features bold, interlocking shapes and stretches 158 feet, covering the plaza’s overhang, five columns and a bench. It took about six weeks to paint and was completed in October. A selection committee liked Pineda’s concept best among the 50 artists who applied for the project.
