A Houston Graffiti King, Asiatown Art and a Surprise Sister City — Why Painted Bridges Matter

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“Painted Bridges” mural artists Lawrence Hsieh, Hsin Hwang, Stu Yang, Linying Huang, Tsai Ni Chen, and Ami Liu (Photo courtesy of EpNex)

Artist Ami Liu working on the “Painted Bridges” mural (Photo courtesy of EpNex)

“Painted Bridges” mural in Houston’s historic Asiatown (Photo by Mary Hoang-Do)

Artists working with GONZO247 on the “Painted Bridges” mural (Photo courtesy of EpNex)

Artist Mario E. Figueroa, known as GONZO247, with the “Painted Bridges” mural (Photo courtesy of SWMD)

Lee’s Golden Dragon Lion Dancers at the “Painted Bridges” mural unveiling (Photo by Mary Hoang-Do)

“Freedom 250” mural by GONZO247, located in Tianmu Stadium in Taiwan (Photo courtesy of GONZO247)

Artist Linying Huang works on the “Painted Bridges” mural (Photo courtesy of EpNex)

It may not be well known, but Houston has a special sister city across the ocean — Taipei, Taiwan. This unlikely partnership dates back to the 1960s, and several tributes to it can be found throughout Houston. If you know where to look. The Friendship Pavilion in Hermann Park is one example. 

Now, a new mural in Houston’s historic Asiatown focusing on the unlikely connection has been unveiled. Called Painted Bridges, the story behind its inception and intricate, explosively colorful design deserves to be told. 

Houston-based muralist Mario E. Figueroa Jr. — aka GONZO247, who is one of the patriarchs of the Bayou City’s street art scene —  teamed up with a group of six Taiwanese artists visiting Houston through the inaugural EpNex Meridian Fellows program. Together, they created a new larger than life mural that celebrates community and togetherness between these two sister cities, and the people who call them home. 

Over three weeks in Houston, these international artists — Lawrence Hsieh, Tsai-Ni Chen, Hsin Hwang, Stu Yang, Lin Ying Huang and Ami Liu — worked with arts professionals and visited local Houston studios and entities, including Canal Street Studios and Fresh Arts. 

The mural unveiling celebrated not just the art, but the atmosphere of the mural’s home of Asiatown. Attendees were entertained by a vibrant performance from Lee’s Golden Dragon dancers, and given coffee and pastries from local businesses Trung E. Nguyen Coffee and 85 Degree Bakery. 

“Street art shows that there is a seat at the table for everyone,” says Adam Yi, an EpNex consultant and the main program contact between Houston and Taiwan. “The Painted Bridges program is all about exploring the space between our differences. Working with a visionary like GONZO247 allows our Fellows to see that a single brushstroke can connect two worlds.”

Program leader and mentor GONZO247 has long been a staple of the Houston street and graffiti art scene, producing pioneering works such as the Houston Wall of Fame and working with organizations such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Houston Arts Alliance. He has also done works in Taiwan, making 15-plus trips there. GONZO247 created the Freedom 250 mural in Tianmu Stadium.

But GONZO247 has never worked with as many international artists as he did on this Houston mural before.

“I was beyond blown away with how quickly they grasped concepts and ideas, to the point where I turned around, and they’re just doing it,” he says. “It was incredible to see them take to it.”

An Asiatown Moment

The mural depicts seven characters sitting at a rounded table that displays the words “All are Welcome.” Each character was uniquely designed, six by each of the artists from Taiwan and the seventh by Gonzo. His character, one of his trademark GONZONAUTS, represents Taiwanese-born Artemis astronaut Dr. Kjell Lindgren, with an arm patch painted on the mural by his daughter Alexandra, who created the SpaceX Crew-4 patch for her father’s mission. 

A depiction of iconic late Asian-American photographer Corky Lee appears on the far left of the work, with Lee shown holding a camera as if he is photographing the other aspects of the mural. The addition honors this trailblazer’s mission of representing Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) individuals and his documentation of their lives throughout his career. 

There is an empty seat at the center of the table, embodying the core of the mural’s ethos — the idea that “there’s always a seat for you.” This phrase is also painted on the right side of the mural above the names of the artists. 

Those words illuminate the key themes of the piece, which are connection and inclusion — both between others now, and between the past and the present. This is shown how the characters are seated around the table, with the ones of the most traditional design being toward the left, and the most futuristic ones seated toward the right. 

The group, who did not know each other and had not worked together before, only had about a day and a half of brainstorming for the mural together after arriving in Houston. 

“How can we make (the mural) have a connection to here?” artist Stu Yang says of the approach. “And how do we combine Taiwan culture with Houston culture?”

Centering of the round table with the individually designed characters around it was their answer to those kinds of questions.

“You can also see many round tables in (Houston’s) Chinatown, and in Taiwan,” Yang says. “And the round table is united. . . and we sit together. The person you sit with at a table means I respect you.”

Painted Bridges can be seen at 9750 Bellaire Boulevard, right next to Trung L. Nguyen E-Coffee.