Transformative Gradient

Geoff Rockwell 86 PT and his wife, Swiss artist Christine Zufferey, own and operate Rockwell Artisan Studio Inc., a New York-based fine arts studio specializing in mural work. Their latest project, Extremes and In-betweens in Two Languages (Extremos e Intermedios en dos Lenguajes) (2024), is a monumental mural for the US Embassy in Mexico City, based on Ed Ruscha’s HD 08 2016 painting GALAXY. Commissioned by the US Department of State’s Art in Embassies, a program designed to create cross-cultural dialogue and foster understanding through the visual arts and artist exchanges, the mural, with a width of 6.78 meters (22' 3") and length of 22.50 meters (73' 10"), was designed for an open-air space above the building’s entry hall and will be the centerpiece of one of the largest US embassy complexes when it opens in 2025.

The mural captures Ed Ruscha’s signature use of typography and atmospheric backgrounds. With words that begin large and shrink in scale, the original work, GALAXY, which showed at Gagosian Gallery, used that effect to evoke a sense of infinite space and raise questions about our place in the universe. Its complexity required a unique adaptation as a mural. While Ruscha achieved its fluid, gradient-like effects using spray paint, replicating this in the context of a ceiling mural—26-plus feet above the ground—presented significant challenges. “It would’ve been impossible to replicate the exact spray technique,” Rockwell explains. “So, we developed a new method using brushes and rollers to mimic the gradient effect.” The studio also replicated a shadow effect that wasn’t technically a shadow at all. They painted two trompe l’oeil cast shadows over the largest words (Galaxy and Galaxia), implying something larger and mysterious hovering over the image.

It took six months before arriving in Mexico to map out logistics, develop digital work and test different techniques, textures and paints in order to achieve the desired effect that mirrored Ruscha’s conceptual approach. “Doing a project like this, especially in a foreign country, was enormously complicated and absolutely everything needed to be planned out in advance,” says Rockwell. Every detail needed to be considered ahead of time, from identifying the correct shades of paint for the gradient to figuring out how to either ship or source those materials in Mexico. “To replicate the tonal gradient scale, for example, we visited Ed ahead of time and he gave us the lightest and darkest shades. Then, back in the studio, we developed the gradient scale into nine shades and made a topographical map to do a ‘paint by number’ process,” explains Rockwell. They used a mineral silica-based paint, known for its durability and archival qualities, that chemically bonds with masonry substrates. The paint is resistant to fading, peeling and cracking, making it the ideal choice for an outdoor installation.

Building full scaffolding in the embassy’s entry hall, they tackled the challenge of painting on a textured stucco ceiling. “We had to use special equipment, like long brushes and rollers on poles, and do a lot of work while standing on scaffolding,” Zufferey says. “We only had one shot to get it right.” The Rockwell team worked alongside a group of highly skilled local conservators—an all-woman, all-Mexican artist crew they employed for the project. Together, they relied on their collective expertise and experience to ensure the gradient effect would appear flawless from a distance.

From Rockwell’s view, the catalyst for taking on this large-scale project included the opportunity to work with Ruscha and the US Embassy. Once the team started the work, they found themselves drawing inspiration from all around, including the beauty of Mexico City and the embassy building’s design, led by acclaimed firms Davis Brody Bond Architects & Planners and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. “The building is just amazing,”says Rockwell. “I first learned about the architects when I was a student at RISD in the ’80s, so to work on a project like this is full circle. And we loved our time in Mexico and are grateful to have learned and experienced as much as we did while we were there. It was all truly an honor.”

Words by Julie Powers. Images © Ed Rusch. Images courtesy of Gagosian. Photos by Francisco Kochen.