Tile Panel by Joana Vasconcelos, Tile mural in Cedofeita, Porto, Portugal
The Tile Panel by Joana Vasconcelos is a large outdoor artwork made of hand-painted tiles covering a building wall in the Cedofeita neighborhood of Porto. Around 8,000 individual tiles were set together to form a colorful composition that stands out clearly from the street.
Until 2014, street art was banned in Porto and murals were regularly painted over by city workers. When the new mayor reversed this policy and launched a public art program, the city began commissioning outdoor works, and this panel was created in 2016 and presented to the public in early 2017.
The panel draws on the long Portuguese tradition of painted tiles and reinterprets it in a contemporary visual language visible to everyone passing by. Its placement next to one of the oldest cafés in the city has sparked debate among residents about how new and old can share the same street.
The work is on an exterior wall in a busy part of Cedofeita and can be seen at any time, free of charge, directly from the street. Stepping back a bit gives the best view of the full composition at once.
The panel was commissioned and funded by the Steak 'n' Shake restaurant chain, an American-style burger brand occupying the building. The fact that a commercial sponsor stands behind such a visible public artwork has been one of the more debated aspects of the project locally.
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