Untitled mural by MOMO, Yuma Art Center, Yuma AZ.

—The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) is pleased to announce a new mural for 2024 to be painted by American mural artist MOMO. The projects began July 22 and is expected to be completed by August 16. This new mural will replace the beloved SLO(W) Rainbow by California artist Leah Rosenberg.

Following his 25-year journey painting walls, MOMO’s work today is focused on color theory and practical geometry for visual composition. For the new mural at SLOMA, he plans to use measured halftones to suggest a color theory known as additive averaging to form a composition. The composition is meant to play on the senses the way composed music can perform a satisfyingly sensual experience. “It seems impossible that this is the fourth project in this amazing series,” said Executive Director, Leann Standish. “We have learned so much from each artist, each project and our community as we’ve continued to present the mural program at SLOMA.” “Murals like this encourage people to look at their surroundings with fresh eyes.”

MOMO is an American artist who began his experimental outdoor work in the late 90s with homemade tools and borrowed public space. For ten years, his free-ranging projects centered on adapted masonry techniques, strategies based on collage, computer code, and seriality, and formed the basis of his visual language. This language finds its expression in paint, on commissioned walls and studio work from 2009 to the present day. Notable mural commissions include those from Facebook, Pepsi, the NFL, the World Trade Center, John Hancock Tower, Art Production Fund NY, European Capital of Culture, the NYC DOT, and Yohji Yamamoto’s Y-3. However, self-organized walls in Jamaica, Sicily, and Arizona (2013, 2016, 2018), painted at the artist’s expense, have been important in demonstrating innovative techniques for a general audience free of the usual commercial concerns.

The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art is an innovative and accessible museum located on California’s Central Coast. The museum presents an outstanding exhibitions program that features artists from California and around the world, as well as an ongoing series of dynamic events that engage visitors of all ages. SLOMA is located in downtown San Luis Obispo on the west end of Mission Plaza, at the heart of the city’s cultural corridor. A destination for art lovers and those just beginning to experience art alike, the museum provides a welcoming space and offers free admission to all.

SLOMA is located at 1010 Broad Street on the west end of Mission Plaza, in San Luis Obispo. For more information about the new mural, exhibits, events and hours visit sloma.org or call (805) 543-8562.