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Greater Charleston West Virginia Public Art Tour

Zone 7 of 7: West Side

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This is a contributing entry for Greater Charleston West Virginia Public Art Tour and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.
Located at the entrance to Charleston's West Side, Dreamer is a fitting welcome to an area on the rise. The work was sponsored by the Office of Public Art, Main Street Charleston, and Gardner's Drycleaning, which is housed in the building. Artist Dan Toro was selected from over forty artists after a national search. Toro travelled from his native Laramie, Wyoming to create the paint on block mural in 2019. Painting took thirteen days. Dreamer depicts a man sitting on a bench during his lunch break. He has a lunchbox, thermos, and sandwich — which is based on a reuben sandwich from local institution, The Grill. The figure appears lost in thought. This is reflected in the stenciled background, which becomes increasingly colorful and whimsical as it wraps around the building. Not wanting to further saturate Charleston's public art with West Virginia's state bird, the cardinal, Toro instead included finches in the stencil. Another symbol that appears in the work is the sugar maple, West Virginia's state tree. Finally, a painted metal finch perches on the top of the building, blurring the lines between Dreamer being two-dimensional and three-dimensional art.

Dreamer.

Blue, Azure, Art, Pink

Dorst, Chris. oktoberfest3, Charleston Gazette-Mail. September 28th 2019. Accessed January 22nd 2021. https://www.wvgazettemail.com/uploaded_photos/oktoberfest/image_26284b44-daa0-59fe-ac6d-7993ed5023b1.html.

Maramba, Philip. Dan Toro, Non Sequitors R Us. September 28th 2019. Accessed January 22nd 2021. https://pmarambablog.wordpress.com/tag/dan-toro/.

Tolotta, Lauren. West Side Gateway Mural Project underway in Charleston, Fox 11. September 16th 2019. Accessed January 22nd 2021. https://wvah.com/news/local/west-side-gateway-mural-project-underway-in-charleston.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Maramba, Philip. Accessed January 22, 2021. https://pmarambablog.wordpress.com/tag/dan-toro/.