I was asked to create the entrance piece to the retrospective exhibition entitled Paint Paste Sticker: Chicago Street Art, curated by Nathan Mason. The exhibition, located on the 4th floor of the historic Cultural Center, was packed full of the true legends & influential names in Chicago public art.
“Chicago-based designer and artist, Matthew Hoffman, saw how street art could also send positive messages. Hoffman started slapping stickers that read "You Are Beautiful" in both visible and relatively obscure spots across the city. The designer quickly realized people were excited to come across these words within the urban cityscape, expected or not. This act has evolved into an international sticker installation, with more than half a million stickers appearing across the globe. The project titled You Are Beautiful, started with the intention to spread a positive message throughout the streets of Chicago. The saying has been appropriated into different shapes and forms but sticks to the initial mission of spreading positive affirmations to all those who come across these three words. The entrance of the exhibition has a massive replica of the original sticker.” - Rachel Kaplan, ArtSlant
“Coming up the stairs or exiting the elevator on the fourth floor, attendees get greeted by Matthew Hoffman‘s worldwide wonder You Are Beautiful” - Terry Carlton, Vandalog
“And I started believing the writing on the wall!” - Jyoti Srivastava, PublicArtInChicago
The piece consisted of six 1" thick sheets of plywood, milled by SAP Design at Dock 6.
The boards were then finished, with a special painting treatment to replicate the You Are Beautiful sticker look and design.
Even at this large scale, every detail was obsessed over.
As glamorous as the end result may be, it always starts in the loading dock.
With a small team, we were able to get the piece assembled & installed with absolutely no hardware ofn the front surface.
It posed challenging, but was handled smoothly.
In the details.
The opening night was a grand success, with many reunions.
We set up a table next to the piece with 2,500 stickers free stickers laid out. They were gone in less than a half hour.
This piece went on to be installed outside along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.
