Walking on Water

Thanks to an anonymous donor, Sam3 painted a giant iconic mural onto Cleveland's Garrett A. Morgan Surge Tank. Sam3 was assisted by local artist Alan Giberson. A community advisory committee with representatives from city council, city planning, Cleveland Water, the city’s public art committee, the artistic community, nearby neighborhoods, community organizations, and local businesses selected Sam3 from diverse shortlist of qualified artists. 

Sam3 is a Spanish artist whose artwork is poetic and inspiring and sometimes ironic and provocative. Born in Elche, Spain, Sam3 currently lives and works in Athens, Greece. Since the 1990s, he has been creating large-scale murals all over the globe, using simple colors and expressive shapes. His works are massive in scale and often feature representations of humankind and natural elements. He is known for his ability to play with negative space and eloquently express universal narratives. Sam3 is often credited with influencing and elevating street art culture around the world.

Sam3’s blue-themed design is purposely simple. 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.

Drawing from the multiple meanings of the Heraclitus quote, “No man ever steps in the same river twice,” Sam3’s design represents the flow of water—cyclical, infinite, and sometimes unpredictable—and uses it as a metaphor for the constant movement and change that characterize life.

The silhouettes are composed of strong, fluid lines that soften the tower’s straight lines. While their forms can be appreciated from a distance or up close, they will take time to fully reveal themselves.

This project would not be possible without the generous private donor and the partnership of Sherwin Williams providing paint for the artist’s work. No public dollars were used in the creation or production of the mural. We are also thankful to the amazing staff we worked with on this project from Cleveland Water.