New butterfly-themed mural spreads its wings at La Gran Biblioteca

Published on November 28, 2022

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There’s an exciting new feature at La Gran Biblioteca, but it’s something you have to check out in person to fully experience.

A new mural was installed this month to highlight and celebrate aspects of the community that surrounds the La Gran Plaza shopping mall at 4200 South Freeway. La Gran Biblioteca is the Fort Worth Public Library’s first location inside a retail center.

The mural was designed by graphic artist Eusebio Martinez, who worked for the Fort Worth Public Library for two years in communications. His inspiration came from the process used to create papel picado, reflected by the natural growth of a butterfly.

“The metamorphosis process a butterfly experiences, a piece of paper experiences to become a beautiful piece of artwork,” Martinez said. “Looking at butterfly wings very much reminds me of papel picado, and they both dance in the wind.”

In deciding the details within the main image, he said it evokes how cities across the world are constantly changing, and the communities within them add to the fabric to create something new and beautiful. “It’s the meshing of culture, and that is what I am trying to convey in this piece.”

The bold colors complement the overall effect. At first look, the mural does look like papel picado, but continuing to explore the different pieces is an adventure that yields new discoveries. The artist hopes library patrons see a true representation of community and cultures.

“There are so many things included in this piece, it’s hard to narrow it down to a few,” Martinez said. “All of it means a lot to me, being first-generation Mexican-American, this is truly a representation of the meshing of culture I experienced growing up.”

He researched landmarks and iconic imagery associated with Fort Worth and Hispanic culture, but he said he wanted to make the artwork easy to digest.

“It means a lot to put together meaningful pieces and I hope it inspires creativity in all ages and has a lasting impression on folks,” Martinez said. “That is all I have ever tried to do when crafting a piece for the city.”