A 25-foot tall image of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams gave Chicago artist Asend the opportunity to flex his knack for fine art details and his graffiti writer style in a massive mural for the West Loop that Bears fans are stopping to see in person.
Completed earlier this month, the three-story image stretches 35 feet wide and features the image of Williams in his “Iceman” pose, with arms crossed across his chest, in front of a navy blue wall. The mural is on the Halsted Street side of La Josie, a Mexican restaurant off the busy Randolph Street corridor. Williams’ nails are painted in Bears’ orange and blue. The image mirrors the cover of the Madden NFL 27 video game.
Asend added his own touch behind Williams. Friends familiar with his graffiti style recognized his lettering font, as “The Chicago Bears” wording flanks Williams’ football helmet with paint drops from the letters seeming to run down the wall. Football play diagrams, with their Xs, Os and arrows, are in each quadrant. The lettering and the plays are in orange, and all of it pops from the blue behind it.
The mural was sponsored by the Bears and EA Sports, the maker of the Madden game, Asend says.
“They gave me artistic freedom to create the background for this Madden cover mural and give it a local touch with a little bit of energy and a little bit of spice,” he says.
The mural also was meaningful because the Bears are a team that unites the city, Asend says. There’s no North Side, South Side, West Side: “The Bears are the glue for everyone.”
“After the success and excitement that the Bears had last year, we’re still riding that high, right? Let’s go. It’s perfect timing for preseason to get back on that energy that we left off with.”
The details of the painting, particularly the folds in the jersey and the way the light hits them, also play into what Asend has explored in the studio in recent years. While he started as a graffiti writer and is known for his murals, he has a thriving studio practice. Asend also hosts residencies around the world to help artists develop their business savvy while taking elevating their work.
Asend murals can be found around Chicago and Highwood, where his image of a graffiti writer walking away from a freshly tagged Metra train can be spotted on the Highwood Historical Society building.
Saida Rodriguez-Guerrero, Chicago Bears manager of fan development and brand marketing, says the timing was perfect for the Williams mural.
“It bridges sports, art and community, and I think everyone was super excited to come together and celebrate a really exciting time for the team.”