A viaduct on Lawrence Avenue just west of the Kennedy Expressway includes numerous murals that are replicas of Ed Paschke paintings. The mural at left is based on his 2000 “Orange Bird” painting. (Robert Herguth / Sun-Times)
Ed Paschke has been dead for nearly 20 years, but the famed Chicago artist still is a strong presence on the Northwest Side. That can be seen on a stretch of Lawrence Avenue in Jefferson Park, where a viaduct is filled with murals that are replicas of his paintings.
The murals went up in 2013, a year before the Ed Paschke Art Center opened nearby at 5415 W. Higgins Ave.
Unlike typical murals, these weren’t done in paint. Rather, Paschke’s artwork was photographed and converted to a 3M film that was adhered in sections to the viaduct’s walls.
The same process also was used to create a sprawling mural of Paschke’s “Luna Negra” painting on the exterior of the art center.
The side of the Ed Paschke Art Center, 5415 W. Higgins Ave., includes a mural based on the Paschke painting “Luna Negra.” (Robert Herguth / Sun-Times)
The center aims “to preserve and provide public access to the work of the legendary Ed Paschke,” a Chicago native who died in 2004 at 65, and “to serve as an educational resource . . . and to function as an accessible platform for artists to showcase their work.”
Chicago artist Ed Paschke in 2001. (Sun-Times file)
Paschke’s work was known for its neon colors and masklike faces and his distinctive take on Pop Art.
A Lawrence Avenue mural of Ed Paschke’s 1993 “Marbilize” painting. (Robert Herguth / Sun-Times)
The art center named for him is slated for a $4 million renovation, to be completed in 2024, that, among other improvements, will expand its interior exhibition space, according to co-founder Vesna K. Stelcer.
A Lawrence Avenue mural of Ed Paschke’s 2004 “Red Boxer” painting. (Robert Herguth / Sun-Times)
A Lawrence Avenue mural based on an Ed Paschke painting from 1969. (Robert Herguth / Sun-Times)
A Lawrence Avenue mural of Ed Paschke’s 1978 “Guitao” painting. (Robert Herguth / Sun-Times)
A Lawrence Avenue mural based on Ed Paschke’s 2000 “Bocca Rouge” painting. (Robert Herguth / Sun-Times)
