Earlier this month, the Alliance for the Arts installed a number of murals on its 10-acre campus that highlight the design principle of emphasis.
“There's infinite ways to create emphasis,” noted Gallery Manager Julio Julio Gonzalez Batista. “You can emphasize something by color, scale or balance and so that was the prompt.”
With all artworks showcasing emphasis differently, the selection process involved observing all submitted artworks simultaneously and analyzing how each worked in relation to another. Those that were unable to work in tandem with the rest were eliminated.
“We just laid them out all together and played around with the best way that they could be displayed,” Batista explained. “We chose the ones that were strong enough to stand on their own but could also play well with each other because the murals are right next to each other, so they can't really take away that much from the one that comes right before or the one that comes after it.”
The result is a varied display of representational, abstract, and non-objective works created by 13 artists from all over the country (Florida, New Mexico, California, Texas and Washington): David Neeld, Lawrence Phillips, Bruce MacKenchie, Andrea Facusse, Denise Chasin, Gwendalin Aranya, Jenny Pearl, Julio Julio, Alisa Sozonyk, Peter Harrington, Carolyn Steele, Sandi Ludescher, and Nancy Cunningham.
The duration of the project is yet undetermined.
“It'll definitely be up throughout the entirety of this year,” said Batista. “It'll likely go into the end of spring of '27, but there's no set deadline for it just yet.”
More about Julio Julio Gonzalez Batista
Julio Gonzalez Batista brings a dynamic blend of artistic talent, educational insight, and curatorial experience to his role as gallery and artist relations manager at the Alliance for the Arts. A graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, Julio earned his bachelor’s degree in art and education, graduating summa cum laude and receiving numerous honors.
His connection to the Alliance began during his college years as a dedicated volunteer, where he gained hands-on experience in exhibition installation and witnessed the organization’s evolution through a pivotal post-pandemic chapter.
Julio’s work is guided by his commitment to uplifting creative voices and building inclusive, vibrant spaces for artistic expression.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
