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Dan Fontes Bay Area Muralist Individual Artist Exhibits of Art
I have an ongoing interest in Bay Area history. I favor local and personal art over the trendy and fashionable art. At the same time, I try to gear my work toward timeless images. In both my murals and studio works, I try to consider attention to "place" or "site specific" pieces of art. Some of them are geared around surprising the viewer, some of them are about leaving a person with a sense of serenity and at other times the paintings can be whimsical or amusing. Often, my concerns for architectural heritage or historical storytelling play a large role in what I choose as my subject matter. When I make a mural, I try to focus in on redirecting or channeling the energy of the place. These newly created places can serve as landmarks, entranceways or emphasize historical properties or many other ideas; the possibilities are limitless. At best, they have taken the surrounding environment (its character, its architecture) or perhaps the light and movement of a place's activity into accou nt. [from the artist's website]
Salud! 1996-97
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 Salud! 1996-97, Artist: Dan Fontes, Bay Area Muralist, Individual Artist Exhibits of Art

Salud!", 1997, Nova acrylics on primed concrete, 98 feet high by 50 feet wide. Portraits of sixteen of the residents of the Bethany Senior Center painted on the exterior wall at 21st and Capp Streets in the heart of the Mission District San Francisco, California. The central wall features the name "Bethany" in neon lights as an o'mage to the Mission Districts many old theater marquees from the early 20th Century. In the background is the shadow of the old "grace church" that once stood on the site. In the center, at the bottom of the mural, one of the residents of Bethany sits in a ticket booth waiting to sell passerbys a ticket, an invitation to come in and get to know the real lives and diverse activities of the seniors and residents.[from the artist's website]

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