Remix Uno
Location: 3080 Valmont Road
Photo by Peter Kowalchuk
Remix Uno is a Mexico City-based artist. His mural for Street Wise was inspired by the Latino community of Boulder, more specifically the nearby Latino neighborhood in East Boulder. The artist wanted to paint a confident Latina who is proud of herself and her heritage.
The woman wears her dark hair back from her face with her bangs falling romantically in her eyes. Her hand reaches for her chin as she gazes off in the distance with a playful expression of wonderment. The figure’s brown skin contrasts with the bright baby blue background of the building. Remix Uno also layers colorful, playful designs over the woman.
His use of pure colors, geometric shapes, biomorphic forms, and abstraction recalls the work of Spanish artist Joan Miró, who was active in the early twentieth century and often associated with the Surrealist movement. Surrealists often made reference to the subconscious and the dream world, something that Remix Uno might be recreating within this mural. His focus on the woman’s head might be an effort to direct the viewer to wonder what’s going on inside her mind, her subconscious. This sense of surrealism continues with the muralist’s inclusion of a vase of flowers in the middle of the woman’s face, a nonsensical element that appears out of place. (The flowers may reference the Bloomin Seed Paper Company housed within the building.) Remix Uno often adds out-of-place motifs to his murals to stir confusion in the viewer and spark their imagination. These elements don’t always need a reason for appearing in his work, but rather reflect a sense of play and freedom from reason similar to the Surrealists.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Claudio Rico de Alba, also known as Remix Uno, was born and raised in Mexico City. He studied graphic design at UAM Mexico City and has created designs, illustrations, and murals for companies like Nike, Pizza Hut, and Despagar. Remix Uno uses his street art skills to create meaningful and powerful works of art for local communities. He has painted murals all over the world in places such as Mexico City, Oaxaca, Austin, New York City, and Boston. The artist takes inspiration from Prehispanic imagery and characters and traditional Latin American folklore, mixing those elements with a variety of artistic styles to create “monumental collages” that celebrate Latin culture.
Remix Uno also founded Mexikool Street Art Tours in Mexico City. Participants start with a walking tour of the city and then paint a mural of their own. Find out more by visiting @toursmexikool on Instagram.
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