Ask Ariana Enriquez about creating an outdoor mural rendered in oil paint, and she’ll burst out laughing.
“It would peel right off the wall!” says the artist, known for her vibrant public depictions of plants and wildlife. “I’d have to stand there for six weeks telling people not to touch it while it’s drying. And that would be performance art, not a mural.”
Enriquez’s colorful murals – always done in acrylic, of course – have enlivened walls at Desert Botanical Garden and in Mesa’s Asian District, as well as local businesses including Baseline Flowers. In 2023, her installation, “Yoya’s Table,” was shown as part of that year’s Super Bowl celebration. And although her line of handpainted flower pots has really taken off, she’s still best known locally for her public art.
“My murals are the bread and butter of my career,” says Enriquez, who studied painting and art history at Arizona State University, and later worked as a museum registrar at ASU and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. “They’re what gave me the confidence to leave the 9-to-5 workforce to be a full-time artist.”
Enriquez loves the accessibility of public art; she doesn’t have to wait to score a gallery exhibition to show her work. “My paintings are always out there for people to see. And I love the collaboration, too, when the community has a hand in the design of the mural I’m creating for their neighborhood.”
The artist feels that after she’s completed a mural, it no longer belongs to her. “Once I’m done, I’m saying to the community, ‘OK, this is yours now. We can all be proud of it and own it together.’ Sharing my work in that way makes me happy.”
She’s less happy about the little voice in her head that sometimes tells her she’s not doing enough.
“I’m too much of a perfectionist,” Enriquez admits. “It’s always a resolution of mine not to listen to that voice, and as more projects come along, it’s been getting a little quieter.”
– Robrt L. Pela
Tool Kit
“I got it at IKEA when I was a freshman in college. I mostly use the hammer to close paint can lids.”
Binoculars
“I’m using these more and more these days. I can spy on what’s going on in the trees with the birdies and bugs I want to paint. I plan to become a birdwatcher one day.”
Incense Burner
“I found this at a Renaissance fair. It’s one of the little things that bring me joy and get me in the headspace to paint.”
Paintbrushes
“These are the brushes I take with me when I’m doing a mural. Sometimes they’ll break, and I’ll tape them because I’m not ready to get rid of them. I keep the ones I never use, because you never know.”
WILD AT ART
At FOUND:RE Phoenix hotel, art is everywhere, from a painting above the check-in desk to framed works dotting the hallways. The boutique art hotel’s entire ground floor doubles as a public gallery, and its newest exhibition, Where the Wild Things Stay, leans into that immersive spirit with a playful take on nature and animals in an urban world. Programmed by FOUND:RE’s art and culture curator Jordan Zurn, the contemporary show spotlights Arizona artists working across painting, photography, fiber, sculpture and multimedia. “My favorite part about this exhibition is just the variety of mediums that we have this time around,” she says, adding that the show includes more three-dimensional work than usual. Originally inspired by the popularity of pet portraits, the exhibition evolved into a broader conversation about domestic and wild animals. Its title is a nod to the classic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, reimagined for a hotel setting. “Animals are a really approachable idea,” Zurn says. Open through July 12 and free to the public. 1100 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, 602-875-8000, foundrehotels.com
– Kasturi Tale
