Minneapolis artist Greg Gossel to paint Hennepin Av. mural

Minneapolis muralist Greg Gossel with a previous project.

American Express has commissioned a new mural for Hennepin Avenue from Minneapolis-based artist Greg Gossel whose colorful collage-style designs have been shown throughout the country and abroad in both Copenhagen and London.

The mural will be sited at 930 Hennepin Avenue, at the corner of 10th Street, on the north wall of the building which previously housed the National Camera Exchange. Gossel plans to begin painting Nov. 7 and to complete the work by Nov.16.

Gossel's pop style has been compared to the graphic designs of Shepard Fairey and the comic-book inspired paintings of the late Roy Lichtenstein. For the Hennepin site he plans to incorporate references to the avenue's long history as an entertainment district that began with vaudeville and moved on to movies, Broadway musicals, dance companies, strip joints, restaurants and sports bars. Over the decades the Avenue was also home to auto dealerships, a grocery store, and in the late 19th-century, a hay market.

Presently it is being repurposed as the spine of the Minneapolis Cultural District, an aspirational upgrade that is intended to link Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden to the Mississippi River.

Gossel's project is the second mural to sprout on Hennepin Av. in 2015. It follows a five-story, cubistic interpretation of three stages in the life of Minnesota-born troubadour Bob Dylan that Brazilian painter Eduardo Kobra painted overlooking a parking lot and the light-rail train line at the intersection of 5th Street and Hennepin Avenue.

The American Express commission is part of Small Business Saturday Street Art, a national effort to support local businesses throughout the country. In partnership with Juxtapoz, a monthly magazine about contemporary art, American Express commissioned neighborhood murals in 20 markets including Minneapolis. The nonprofit Hennepin Theatre Trust, which owns the Orpheum, State, Pantages and New Century Theatres, is overseeing implementation of Gossel's mural.