Red Tail's Garden
2025 Street Wise Mural Festival
Location: South facing wall in alley of RIOS, 1980 8th St, Boulder, CO 80302
Photos by Jeff Goldberg, Yukai Tomsovic, and Max Kauffman
Check out Red Tail's Garden painted by Max Kauffman for #SWMF2025. What do you see at first glance?
The artist creates several stylized rows of abstracted birds and faces. To the left of the yellow doorway, Max paints rows of half-circles. The bottom row showcases several potted plants and small trees, seemingly growing from the dirt path at the base of the wall. Above the painted foliage, flowerlike eyes and diamond noses combine to evoke the faces of owls. Rainbows provide a link between the owl faces. Max tops the rows with semi-circles full of diamond-like stars.
To the right of the yellow doorway, the artist paints rows of interlocking faces. These abstracted faces appear in profile looking up toward the sky rather than out toward the viewer. The curvilinear faces form points in the center, creating elegant noses. Flowers take the place of eyes. The faces fill with symbols of plants, flowers, and rainbows, mirroring the rows across the way.
The repeating patterns create harmony and unity, revealing the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and plants. Max’s gentle use of abstraction and contrasting color palette evokes feelings of joy and also courage - courage to stand out from the crowd, yet to also find yourself welcomed into the fold.
The artist describes his style as neü folk (check out his collaborative project of the same name @neuf0lk). To Max, neü folk emphasizes a modern approach to traditional methods of artmaking. The work could be from a thousand years ago, or created just yesterday. Primarily an analog approach, it is complete with imperfect, human elements and emotional cadence.
Max’s folk mural starkly contrasts with the black wall at RIOS, an architectural design firm. The artist felt that this wall and wall partner was a perfect match for him. Although the surface presented some design challenges, ultimately the wall blends well with his work, making the mural appear as though it has always existed here.
About the Artist:
Max Kauffman (b. Chicago, Illinois) is an artist and curator based in Colorado. He received a BFA in Ceramics with a minor in Anthropology from Arizona State University. He has exhibited his work nationally in solo and group exhibitions, including at Museum of Friends in Walsenburg, CO; Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities in Arvada, CO; Gildar Gallery in Denver, CO; Cass Contemporary, Tampa, FL; and the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA. He has painted murals in cities across North America, including Oakland, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Chicago, and Denver. He is the recipient of residencies at the Newnan Art Center in Newnan, GA, the Black Book Gallery in Denver, and the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, WI. Kauffman’s curatorial project, Neü Folk, highlights handmade, traditional, and folk art practices.