The Story Behind the Avenue Concept’s Painted Utility Boxes in Providence
Artists of color were commissioned to paint utility boxes on the South Side and downtown.
Lara Henderson, “Prisms”.
4. Lara Henderson, “Prisms”
Lara Henderson is based in Providence, where she prints out of AS220 and runs her small business, Make Books. Her books are in multiple collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and RISD. Henderson painted several rainbow prisms on her utility box.
Natural, “The Fighter”.
5. Natural, “The Fighter”
Natural focuses mainly on the art of spray painting. He has created a number of murals in the past with elements of flora and fauna. A gigantic purple betta fish takes up a majority of Natural’s utility box while a dark background complements the cool colors.
YSANEL, “La Broad de Mi Alma”.
6. YSANEL, “La Broad de Mi Alma”
Dominican artist YSANEL is a multidisciplinary artist best known for her series, The Faces of Street Art. Much of her work emphasizes unique character and color play, and she often explores the relationship between modern day and history. On one side of YSANEL’s utility box, she painted a pair of legs walking across a crosswalk; on the other, a yellow building with the Dominican Republic flag hanging from the side.
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