Street canvas

Artist Susan Champeny brings together a panel of artists

by Leon Nigrosh

THE PORTABLE MURAL At the Italian American Cultural Center, 28 Mulberry Street, Worcester, through January 31.

When artist Susan Champeny first came to town, in 1983, she was immediately intrigued by the face of Worcester, so much so that she kept her paints and watercolor pad in her car as she crisscrossed the city, stopping to paint pictures of architecture -- particularly the tall chimneys and brick factories. As the years passed, she saw the skyline change: old buildings disappeared and new ones were constructed. Champeny had often thought about creating a large mural of Worcester and eventually came up with the idea of producing a portable mural, one made in sections that could be easily transported. She would paint the major portion -- a landscape with hills, trees, and buildings -- which would then be augmented with panels painted by the public. But this past May, after the first panel was completed by the family next door, the project took on a life of its own.

The first 12 panels of "The Portable Mural Project" are currently on display at the Italian American Cultural Center (IACC). Each canvas has been designed and produced by a different group. Champeny serves as the coordinator, letting group members agree on a subject matter, layout, colors, and methods of execution. As you move from image to image, you see how diverse a vision of the city its inhabitants possess.

The Tuppers, Champeny's next-door neighbors, produced Our House was Red as a reminder that the three-storey structure was painted a deep red. However, soon after they moved in, the owner had it painted green. The three youngsters went on to embellish the large canvas with pictures of their favorite Pokémon characters; they even included an image of the ghost who shares their living space.

A group of art students from Beverly's Monserrat School of Art were summering a few doors away on Home Street; when they found out about the project, they too wanted to participate. Their view of Worcester was radically different from the Tuppers'. They saw the city as a living amalgam of abstract shapes and bright colors. Using leftover cans of latex and acrylic paints donated by nearby homeowners, the threesome covered their panel with slashes of greens, reds, yellows, and blues, in a manner akin to Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944). But unlike this early master of the Abstract, they took their panel outdoors and let a gentle rainfall soften their brushstrokes, making the colors bleed together.

Members of the women's ArtXII group produced ArtXII Self Portrait: Op Art and Neon and ArtXII Self Portrait: Night Figures, both of which feature the artists' silhouettes cavorting in space. The former is ablaze with hot pink and yellow figures interlocking with others in acid green and orange. The latter looks like a pink, mauve, and blue version of a twister that Henri Matisse (1869-1964) might have painted.

In October, two children's groups from Worcester's First Unitarian Church also lent their talents. The first created Fall Scene, a brightly colored image of trees with falling leaves, a cheery red bird, and a brilliant orange jack-o'-lantern. Not to be outdone, the second group produced Gas Light and Squirrel, a brooding night scene populated by a quarter-moon, stars, one of Worcester's few remaining gas streetlights, and, of course, a gray squirrel. And just this past Tuesday, a number of children from the IACC banded together to create the latest panel for this ever-expanding work.

To date, Champeny and her cohort of artists have assembled 60 feet of work. Her hope is to continue to expand this undertaking until it extends for hundreds of feet and encompasses original stories by the city's various ethnic groups, the elderly, local veterans' groups, colleges, movers and shakers, as well as the disabled and homeless, which would reflect a true portrait of the city.

The gallery is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery remains open until 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Call 791-6139.