Featured Artist: Shayne M. “Quetsmo” Oseguera
Experience Quetsmo’s The Roosevelt Mural, curated and produced by Empire Seven Studios, on the south-facing wall of the new Roosevelt Park Apartments on the corner of East Santa Clara Street and North 21st Street.
Shane Martin Oseguera, also known as Quetsmo, is a muralist from Redwood City, California, currently based in San Diego. His moniker combines Quet, a reference to Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god of creativity, with SMO, his initials. He has adopted Quetzalcoatl to represent his work, which includes the dualities of sun and moon, reds and blues–warm and cool colors.
After graduating from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s in painting and printmaking and pursuing a muralist career by volunteering with POW! WOW! Long Beach (now known as Long Beach Walls), Quetsmo was introduced to Carlos and Jen of Empire Seven Studios. He jokes, “…and they haven’t been able to get rid of me since.”
Quetsmo remembers getting the call about The Roosevelt Mural from Empire Seven Studios–“As soon as [Carlos] introduced this opportunity to me, I told him, Man, this has been a dream of mine. I have been waiting for this call for years, and hands down, I’m all in. I’ve been putting 110% 24/7 on this thing.” Quetsmo spent a couple of months preparing the design and two months on the wall itself.
The mural is over 100 feet wide, spans 77 feet vertically at its tallest point, and is 20 feet high along the sides. Focusing on plants and animals native to California, Quetsmo hoped to capture the diversity of the state’s landscape. The crown jewel, centered on the tallest portion of the wall, is a larger-than-life Elephant Cactus adorned with a single hawk and cactus blooms painted in pearlescent white. It can be seen from East Santa Clara Street and symbolizes the strength of the community in one of San Jose’s oldest neighborhoods.
“Not only this community, but so many others like it, and the people within it have endured many hardships but continue to stay resilient. And that’s exactly what this cactus represents.” -Shayne M. Oseguera.
About the Development:
The Roosevelt Park Apartments, a First Community Housing development, are designed for young adults experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, homeless families, large families, and, if possible, foster families and/or survivors of domestic abuse. The project’s goal was to create a synergistic set of services and facilitate community building so that 80 families and transitional-age youth could remain in this rich and supportive neighborhood rather than being pushed out of Silicon Valley.
Artist Statement:
The composition transitions from the ocean to the west to the desert to the east. A unique quality we share all along the western coast, from Oregon down to Baja California and Mexico. The Santa Clara Valley mountain range stretches across the background, bringing a calming sense to the viewer. The foreground is a colorful reflection of the local biodiversity found within our community. People are seen interacting with the environment through activities they can engage in. The 1964 Impala lowrider in the bottom right-hand corner represents the surrounding area’s dominant Hispanic and Latino demographic. A large Elephant Cactus stands tall as the main focal point. Personifying the resilience of all demographics who have endured countless hardships yet continue to adapt and survive despite the odds against them.
Follow Quetsmo on Instagram @quetsmo and website at quetsmo.com
Follow Empire Seven Studios on Instagram @empire7studios and their website at empiresevenstudios.com (Last featured on The Content Magazine Podcast Episode #16)
Learn more about evelt Park Apartments at rooseveltparkapartments.com
