Mural Festival
at CMAD
During Yonkers Arts Weekend, the Carpet Mills Arts District’s walls became a canvas for something truly extraordinary. A group of incredibly talented artists came together to transform public spaces into powerful works of art, each mural a bold expression of creativity, culture, and community.
These artists didn’t just paint - they poured days of hard work, heart, and soul into every brushstroke, turning blank surfaces into vibrant landmarks that will live on in the fabric of Yonkers. Their work tells stories, sparks conversation, and brings people together in ways only art can.
This page is a celebration of their time, talent, and vision. Dive in to explore the murals, meet the artists, and witness the impact of this unforgettable artistic movement.
José Gonzalez
José Gonzalez is a multimedia artist, muralist and cofounder of We Art One artist collective, a non profit organization focused on affordable studios and a safe place to create and network.
As a lifelong resident of Yonkers, NY José has seen the art scene flourish and has also worked along side various organizations such as Yonkers Arts and YOHO artist collective.
Royal King Bee
The Royal KingBee UW, aka Kbornik Acid, AKA Kborne, was born in Harlem, NYC, and raised in the Bronx in the early ‘70s. KingBee began his illustrious career painting graffiti on walls until gathering recognition and eventually being commissioned to perform his artistic abilities for numerous businesses, public and private, all throughout the city of New York. Some being Rite Aid, Bacardi and Youngland, just to name a few. Highly talented, respected and probably the most underestimated undergroun artist of our time.
KingBee is the President/Leader/Founder of UW LAW, one of the most talented graffiti crews in New York City throughout the 90’s. KingBee continues to create art in all mediums and categories including body art, canvasses, logos, and clothing.
Luke Smile
Luke Smile is a British lettering artist whose bold, dynamic typographic works sit at the intersection of fine art, design, and street culture. Renowned for his large-scale, vibrant murals, Luke’s practice explores the emotional resonance of words — how letterforms, colour, and spatial depth can shift perspective, spark joy, and provoke thought.
With a degree in Graphic Design, Luke blends his design knowledge with traditional signwriting techniques and the raw influence of graffiti.
His process merges contemporary tools — spray paint, stencils, and brushwork — to craft immersive compositions. At the centre of his visual language is Smile Sans, a distinctive 3D typeface he developed in 2017, born from a moment of personal artistic breakthrough. Its hollow, geometric structure has become a signature framework for bold colour, tactile texture, and playful commentary, appearing across walls, canvas, and digital formats.
Luke’s work is deeply rooted in place and people. Many of his murals are created in collaboration with communities, reflecting local voices while anchoring universal themes of optimism, connection, and humour. His smiley motif punctuates much of his work — a recurring symbol of joy and resistance.
Influenced by music, cultural nuance, and the ever-shifting landscape of modern life, Luke Smile is exploring what lettering can be in contemporary art. His practice is equal parts precision and play, delivering thoughtful messages with bold scale, a bright palette, and a distinctly tongue-in-cheek tone that’s hard to forget.
His work has captured the attention of global audiences and brands alike, marking him as a fresh and compelling voice in the international art scene.
Barbtropolis
Barbtropolis is the vibrant creative world of Barbara Graetzer—a fusion of “Barbara” and “Metropolis”—where striking visuals and meticulous craftsmanship celebrate life’s imperfections. Rooted in freedom and spontaneity, Barbara’s textured, layered work captures the beauty of individuality, transforming spaces into emotional, living narratives. Inspired by the grit and grace of urban life, her art depicts characters savoring the small, meaningful moments of daily existence.
A native of Rio de Janeiro and based in Brooklyn, NY, Barbara brings over 15 years of experience as an internationally recognized Creative Director, muralist, and artist. She has collaborated with global advertising giants such as Havas, FCB Health, Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann, and Leo Burnett, shaping campaigns that merge fine art with bold commercial design. Her education—a BFA in Visual Communication and an MA in Illustration—lays the foundation for her dynamic and impactful career.
Barbara’s murals have transformed New York City spaces, from the Bed-Stuy Mural Festival to Industry City, celebrating individuality, urban energy, and the beauty of imperfection. Her art has been showcased in galleries and public spaces, resonating with audiences through its raw authenticity and emotional depth.
Fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, Barbara’s cosmopolitan approach drives her mission: to create art that connects, inspires, and transforms spaces into powerful visual experiences. Through Barbtropolis, she continues to explore the raw, captivating beauty of human existence, crafting works that celebrate life and leave a lasting emotional impact.
Erwin Ong
Erwin Ong is an illustrator, surface design artist, and muralist based in White Plains, New York. His bright and happy character-based illustrations are influenced by a love for nature, food, and city living.
Erwin started A Duck Amuck in 2020 to give people the tools that can bring more joy into their lives, whether through writing short notes and greetings, giving gifts, or decorating a home or office with bright and happy artwork.
Maxx Moses
Maxx Moses, an international muralist, is also known as Pose2, a world-renowned graffiti writer. His distinct style in urban art, and corporate commissions along with inspiring messages that connect to communities worldwide have, have garnered him global recognition from South Africa to South America. “The quality of my art is not just measured by the final product; it's determined by how well I connect with the people of that environment.”
Nancy Mendez
Westchester, New York based Visual Artist, Nancy Mendez, has been creating Art since childhood.
Drawing inspiration from her Ecuadorian and Puerto Rican heritage, her love for music, nature, and mysticism, Nancy’s work is distinguished by an ever-present current of Eros, the same passion that fuels her life.
A free spirited and eccentric being, Nancy’s work could only be partially understood through her unique approach of mixed media usage and raw emotions.
Her work embodies an elusive magical world, where she makes her works more personal to her viewers, forcing them to project their own feelings and emotions onto each character in her enchanting creations.
Linda Serrone
Linda Serrone is an artist who also goes by ICU and creates CITYsized murals throughout NYC and the Tri State area. Born and raised in the boroughs of NYC, Serrone who is self taught and eventually getting a degree from Brooklyn College; tracing everything on site creating her own style of drawing using the ballpoint pen. When she can’t paint on walls she creates CITYsized paper murals in ballpoint pen and graffiti markers and oil paintings on canvas. Serrone’s work is meant to mirror the community around her and who ever needs to be elevated. Community is everything and her lineage of work, no matter where the location, collaboration is key. Serrone continues to reside in Brooklyn with a studio in borough park. You can see more of her work @lmcs_r or @_icu_nyc_ lindaserronerolon.com
Benny Guerrera
Benny Guerra was born and raised in Queens, New York. Writing since 1982, He earned his BFA in illustration in 2003 at the School of Visual Arts. Mediums he enjoys working in are, oil, acrylic, airbrushing ,and spray paint. Currently he is restoring classic cars, painting large murals, and holding down a fulltime construction job. Being open to different art forms has given him a broad perspective on the arts, allowing him to mix different art forms and to create new styles and unique works of art.
Brittany DiMauro
Brittany DiMauro a.k.a. Eternal Possessions is a New York City based collage artist who uses largely discarded materials to create intricate visual works made of paper and glue that delve into complex issues regarding the malleability of the mind and its exploitation through the advent of celebrity. Conceived in the early days of the pandemic, Eternal Possessions is a trapdoor into the mind of the artist that leads the viewer into their own emotional landscape from the intersection of pop culture and politics. Often these works are enlarged into iterations as tall as twelve feet and installed in forgotten places across New York City. Brittany held her inaugural exhibition with Chashama in the summer of 2023 entitled “Community Altar” which guided the audience through a process of interacting with and adding to painstakingly decoupaged altar pieces made of materials spanning from handmade wooden triptychs to reclaimed furniture and traditional canvases. Selections from “Community Altar” were subsequently commissioned by The Museum Of Urban Arts for installation in the first ever takeover of Freeman’s Alley in November of 2023.
Natasha May Platt
Natasha May Platt is a mural artist based in New York, known as @surfaceofbeauty on Instagram. She graduated magna cum laude in philosophy and religion from Harvard College and received the 2010 Gardner Fellowship for a year of international creative exploration after graduation. Her fellowship led her to the embroidery and textile traditions of Kolkata, India, and she spent three years in Kolkata studying and working in textile design.
Her mural work is influenced by the color and rhythm of textile traditions, as well as her personal connection to nature and meditative states. She has painted murals for Netflix, Amazon Music, Google, Coach, Freeform Media, Apple TV, True Food Kitchen, NYC Health + Hospitals, The City of Yonkers, Bustle, Love Shack Fancy, The Ballston Quarter Mall, The Howard Hughes Corp, The Georgetown Company, The SoNo Collection, as well as murals in Mexico, Bali, India, and the British Virgin Islands.
Ryan Smith
Ryan Smith (aka Avisualbliss) is a multidisciplinary artist and muralist with over two decades of experience transforming walls into immersive visual narratives. His creative journey began on the streets of Rochester, NY, where his passion for graffiti laid the foundation for a career that now spans large-scale murals, fine art commissions, and set design for film, television, and photography.
In 2009, Ryan relocated to New York City’s Lower East Side to study at the School of Visual Arts and later at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Immersed in the city’s vibrant art scene, he quickly established himself in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where he pursued art with relentless energy—securing walls, painting personal murals, and expanding his stylistic range.
Ryan’s work reflects a deep evolution and balance, blending street art roots with refined studio techniques. His versatility has become a defining trait, enabling him to fluidly shift between expressive spray paint murals, detailed scenic treatments, and custom backgrounds for major productions. Whether creating atmospheric textures on set or vibrant public artworks, Ryan continues to push his practice forward—always in pursuit of visual bliss.
BC NBA
BC, a native New Yorker born in Spanish Harlem and raised in the Bronx, believes that beauty can emerge in many ways. His love for art began at a young age, influenced by both people and life circumstances. He credits tragedy for leading him to where he is today. BC's mother recognized his artistic ability early on and encouraged his creativity by displaying his crayon drawings on the refrigerator. His passion for drawing and coloring was further nurtured by supportive art teachers.
The vibrant graffiti on the elevated "4" train, visible from his Bronx apartment, also left a significant impression. By 1979, BC began creating graffiti in his neighborhood. He officially started tagging on the C&D train line in 1982, expanding to the 6 line by 1983. After being "advised" by the Vandal Squad to stop in 1984, he went on to paint on every line possible under his alias, WIN 1 TTR (Time Ta Rock).
From 1988 to 2020, BC was largely inactive in the art world, with the exception of a two-year period from 2004 to 2006. His return to art came in August 2020 when a friend's annual graffiti birthday party inspired him to paint a tribute to his late brother, Jaime. Since then, he has painted with a newfound passion, emotion, and inspiration. BC now creates street art and canvases with the hope of evoking feelings of love, hope, faith, joy, comfort, and compassion, aiming to make people feel alive. He believes that if his art can achieve this, he has accomplished something special—transforming tragedy into a form of beauty he wishes to share with the world.
