Renowned Milwaukee muralist Mauricio Ramirez is at it again – this time with a landmark public art project that is believed to be the largest mural in Wisconsin.
The latest creation from Ramirez, whose work includes the 55-foot Downtown Milwaukee mural of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, is 1,076 feet long – almost the length of three full football fields – on the riverfront-facing back wall of the Cummins engine and generator factory in Oshkosh.
The work will serve as a visual anchor along the Oshkosh Riverwalk, with each panel of the mural designed to unfold like a page in the city’s storybook, nodding to the timber and aviation industries, the iconic Oshkosh B’gosh brand and the legacy of Lewis Hine’s photography. The project also highlights the continued innovation that takes place inside the Cummins facility, which produced the world’s first manufactured axle and remains a hub of automotive manufacturing.
Ramirez, a visual artist celebrated for his vibrant geometric style, layered symbolism and ability to weave local stories into monumental works, began and completed the mural in October.
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Drawing on his Latino heritage and background in street art, Ramirez said he sees public murals as more than decoration and “as cultural expressions that shape the subconscious of a community” and as “stories cast in color.”
“In Oshkosh, I see many stories, from timber, to factories, to the hum of aviation and machines,” Ramirez said in a statement. “My hope is that every walker, cyclist or visitor on the Riverwalk will feel connected to the past, present and future of this great place.”
Milwaukee’s urban landscape is dotted with Ramirez’s murals. His work is also found in cities across the United States, including Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, Kansas City and Albuquerque.
The Oshkosh mural project is the first major investment in Discover Oshkosh’s new initiative to use public art to create more dynamic public spaces across the Fox Valley community. The aim of the project is to draw attention to the investments the city of Oshkosh and Winnebago County have made in the riverfront trails, which now connect 11 miles that stretch from Lake Winnebago to Lake Butte des Morts and back, along both sides of the Fox River.
With Ramirez’s mural rising along its path, the riverwalk will become more than a recreational asset and transform into a cultural destination, Discover Oshkosh Executive Director Amy Albright said. “We often talk about the riverwalk as a mansion with no furniture,” she said. “With Mauricio’s vision, we have turned an industrial wall into a vibrant destination, motivating more people to use this asset we’ve invested in and making people feel pride in Oshkosh as they bike or boat past it.”
The process that led to the mural began about a year ago when a plant manager at Cummins reached out concerning ways to improve the property, which is located along the Fox River near the UW-Oshkosh campus. “It’s a very long industrial building that was not all that attractive,” Albright said in an interview with Milwaukee Magazine.
Ramirez was chosen to create a mural after he responded to a request for proposals.
“We were thrilled. He obviously does such amazing work,” Albright said. “A lot of our board members were familiar with him because of the Giannis mural. That put him over the top. He’s a treasure. He’s a humble and talented person.”
Ramirez, much to the surprise of most involved, completed the massive mural in less than a month. “The whole thing went so much faster than we ever expected,” Albright said.
She hopes the mural will be a catalyst in “activating” the Oshkosh Riverwalk. “The only way to see this mural is you have to be either on the Riverwalk or on the river itself,” Albright said. “We really wanted to get people moving along the river. It’s a beautiful area.”
The mural was commissioned through a partnership with Cummins and the JEK Foundation, an Oshkosh-based organization that supports a variety of causes including basic needs, cultural initiatives, economic development, health care and youth.
“We can only hope that this inspirational mural will spur further creative endeavors and partnerships along Oshkosh’s riverfront and throughout our entire community,” JEK Foundation trustee Courtney Lasky said in a statement.
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