Purple Finches by Max Kauffman

Painted: 5/13/2015

(This mural has since been removed.)

About the Bird: Purple Finches (more of a rose finch, really) are commonly seen along the Northern and Eastern United States during the summer. If left unchecked, climate change will likely push it out of the United States during its nesting season entirely. The forest dweller’s survival may depend upon its ability to adapt to the far northern taiga and tundra. Limiting warming will help it maintain breeding habitat in a broad swath of Canada, in some of New England, and along the West Coast.

About the Artist: Max Kauffman grew up going between the woods of South Bend, Indiana, and Chicago. This back and forth continues in his art with conscious, realized line work coupling with abstract mark making. That moment of potential, that feeling of the unknown, is the foundation of his efforts—a dystopian harmony between what is and what could be. He had never painted on a roll-down surface before the Audubon Mural Project—something he later called a fun challenge. “My work went more textural than normal,” he says, “and it was a great night to paint and see Harlem.” 

Former Location: