Invest in Love for the Best Returns

Philly-famous for his A Love Letter For You mural series along SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line in West Philadelphia, Stephen (ESPO) Powers returned to his hometown in December 2019 to transform an empty building into a screen-printing pop-up shop with flair. The building at 1201 Spring Garden Street operated for many years as a bank and was filled to the brim with visitors on Saturday, December 21, 2019 as ESPO screen-printed BYO items and sold his work, a portion of the proceeds going to benefit Mural Arts Philadelphia. On March 6 & 7, 2020, Mural Arts hosted “Daymaker,” an exhibition at the same location, which featured Powers’ iconic graphic work previously on display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

ESPO’s work on the exterior of the building features call-backs to his Love Letter series and helps reimagine the space as something full of creativity and promise. Powers’ work focuses on the language of signs, typography, and the visual clutter of our everyday. His work riffs off our emoticon-driven culture, and his lyrical witticisms capture our collective unease with the rapidity—and often vapidity—of instantaneous communication. Powers reminds us of the importance of human connection, the inevitability of time, and the way we craft and recraft our own personal narratives.

Location Note: This temporary work is no longer on view at this location.