The Rockwell Museum invites people to see themselves amid a kaleidoscope of rolling hills, flowers and radiant color in “Infinity Park,” a new public mural by multidisciplinary artist Devan Shimoyama. Developed through The Rockwell Museum’s Alley Art Project, the artwork translates Shimoyama’s signature use of color, adornment, symbolism and personal narrative into an immersive public artwork that invites viewers to pause, reflect and connect.
The mural is the 18th installation in The Rockwell Museum’s Alley Art Project and serves as a featured initiative during the Museum’s 50th anniversary. Since 2010, the program has partnered with professional artists, students, educators and community organizations to create ambitious public artworks inspired by works in the Museum’s collection.
“Infinity Park” marks a significant milestone in the Pittsburgh-based artist’s career as his first large-scale outdoor public mural project, extending the visual language of an internationally recognized practice that spans painting, sculpture, installation and mixed media.
The immersive artwork celebrates the seasonal transition between spring and summer. Figures gather throughout the composition to read, play, rest and connect, creating a vision of collective renewal and belonging. Mirrors incorporated into the mural invite passersby to see themselves reflected within the work, connecting the surrounding environment and community directly to the mural.
While the mural exudes a celebratory spirit, it also reflects Shimoyama’s longstanding interest in how art can foster healing and bring people together. Through its vibrant palette and immersive atmosphere, the mural embraces the rainbow as a powerful symbol of optimism and community connection.
“For me, ‘Infinity Park’ is about creating a space for reflection, possibility and connection,” said Shimoyama. “Translating elements of my studio practice into a mural offered an opportunity to think about how color, symbolism and personal narratives can operate at a larger scale and in conversation with a community. The work is ultimately about renewal and the ways people come together to care for themselves and one another.”
“Infinity Park” emerges from a growing relationship between Shimoyama and The Rockwell Museum. It began with the Museum’s presentation of “Untitled (For Tamir)” in 2023 and has expanded through the acquisition and ongoing interpretation of his works “Le Mat (The Fool)” (2022) and “February” (2022).
Both works have become important touchstones within the Museum’s contemporary collection. Drawing on the tarot archetype of possibility and transformation, “Le Mat (The Fool)” offers a dazzling vision of self-invention and optimism. “February,” a monumental sculptural hoodie embellished with silk flowers, butterflies, rhinestones and foliage, belongs to a series that pays tribute to Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Black teenager who was fatally shot in 2012 while wearing a hoodie. Drawing on the visual traditions of spontaneous memorials, Shimoyama transforms the garment into a powerful symbol of remembrance, confronting racial violence while affirming beauty, dignity and resilience. Together, these works exemplify Shimoyama’s ability to transform personal and cultural histories into richly layered visual experiences. These themes resonate in “Infinity Park,” where flowers, vibrant color and personal symbolism become vehicles for memory, transformation and connection.
“Devan Shimoyama’s work has become a vital part of The Rockwell Museum’s evolving engagement with contemporary art,” said Erin M. Coe, executive director of The Rockwell Museum. “Our relationship with Devan has grown from exhibiting and collecting his work to collaborating with him on an ambitious public art project. ‘Infinity Park’ reflects the power of his artistic practice to explore identity, memory and transformation. But just as important, this project embodies our commitment to bring art beyond the walls of the museum and create opportunities for youth in our community to participate with a contemporary artist in the creative process.”
While rooted in Shimoyama’s artistic vision, the mural was developed collaboratively through the Museum’s Alley Art Project with students from the Corning-Painted Post High School Learning Center’s mural design course, a robust curriculum that allows students to earn credit toward their diploma through project-based learning. Inspired by Shimoyama’s works in the Museum’s collection, students painted the floral imagery woven throughout the scene and selected garments worn by the figures. These details honor loved ones, mentors and individuals of personal significance, celebrating their presence, memory and lasting impact.
“Collaborating with the students to create “Infinity Park” has been a wonderful process. Sharing bits of my practice and seeing how others can employ similar symbols and themes into their own personal narratives has proven that art can be a tool for collective healing and self-reflection,” Shimoyama said.
Located at the Southeast Steuben County Library in Corning, New York, “Infinity Park” is now on permanent public view.
