CLEVELAND, Ohio - If you’ve driven on the Shoreway west of downtown Cleveland over the past few weeks, you’ve probably noticed the Garrett A. Morgan Surge Tank near W. 49th Street being painted.
Spanish artist Sam3 recently finished his project, titled “Walking On Water,” on the 94 foot tower.
As described by the artist: “”It shows two interlaced figures stretching toward one another. The figures boundlessly exert energy as they reach, but never fully connect to each other, because they are in fact the movement of one universal entity and thus already connected.”
The project was funded by an anonymous donation to LAND Studio, and 235 gallons of paint used on the project were donated by Sherwin Williams.
Sam3 has created large murals all over the world since 1990, and his works often feature representations of humankind and natural elements.
Cleveland Water and LAND studio coordinated for over a year to transform the tank, built in the 1970s and named for Garret A. Morgan, a famous black inventor and community leader who died in 1963.
Through a bid process, Cleveland Water hired D&M Contracting to sand-blast, prime and paint and blue top coat on the tank.
D&M Contracting finished the maintenance work over the summer, and artist Sam3 started to paint the mural.
Sam3 was selected from a shortlist of qualified artists by a community advisory committee made up of representatives from city council, city planning, Cleveland Water, Cleveland’s public art committee, the artistic community, nearby neighborhoods, community organizations and local businesses.
Sam3 has been recognized for influencing and elevating street art culture around the globe by Complex Magazine, The Guardian and Design Bump. The publication “Arte Español Contemporaneo 1992-2013” included him among the most important Spanish contemporary artists of his generation.
The artist’s design is inspired by the multiple meanings of Heraclitus’ quote, “No man ever steps in the same river twice.” The mural represents the flow of water -”cyclical, infinite, and sometimes unpredictable” - and uses it to mirror the constant movement and changes in life.
Sam3 was assisted by Alan Giberson, a talented local artist, designer and sign painter who creates under the name Old Soul Sign Co.

Original Article