Driving down the busy street of La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, you’ll see a lot of different buildings–offices, restaurants, stores, etc. But also on your way down the road, you’ll be sure to catch a glimpse of Chinese Laundry’s three-story, 78-feet-wide art installation. An ombré of bright pink, purple and blue featuring the words “California Dreaming” in a modern script, the mural is hard to miss.
Painted right on the side of its Culver City headquarters by international typography artist Ricardo Gonzalez, the installation mirrors the new look, feel and voice of Chinese Laundry, which recently underwent a rebrand. The LA-based fashion footwear brand partnered with creative agency Toth+Co to create a more modern and elevated brand experience with a feminine, expressive and free-spirited brand image. Which can easily be seen in the installation, with its vibrant colors and unique lettering.
The mural adds to the already vibrant artistic pulse in its part of Los Angeles. Within a mile of the building there are notable works from street artists including Jen Stark, Kurtis Culig, Bird O, Donald Robertson and Jason Woodside.
“Chinese Laundry’s headquarters has been located in Culver City since the early 80s. The neighborhood’s thriving and we’ve seen a huge creative community pop up around us. Installation walls are happening all over the city and we were stoked on the idea that we could be a part of this movement,” said Chinese Laundry’s marketing director Katie Henry. “Our wall needed to feel like an extension of our brands; fun, feminine and free spirited. We set out to find an artist that could bring the idea to life.”
And in their search, the brand found a perfect fit with Gonzalez. Born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and raised in Durango, Mexico, Gonzalez studied graphic design at Mohawk College, later attending Type@Cooper and earning a typeface design diploma from Cooper Union. After his graduation in 2014, Gonzalez quickly gained success, working with big-name clients like Nike, Mercedes Benz, Google, LuluLemon, Coca-Cola, Budweiser and Stussy; winning national and international typography awards; and gaining a large social media following (he boasts almost 150K followers on Instagram).
“Last fall I was cruising around ComplexCon and stumbled across Ricardo Gonzalez, @itsaliving. Ricardo was painting a live installation and it immediately struck me, “he’s the guy!” I’d been following his typography on Instagram for a few years and knew his style would be a great fit. We got in touch and the rest is history,” said Henry.
Henry, her team and Gonzalez quickly hit it off, coming up with the concept of “California Dreaming” to showcase the new vibe of their brand. And with over 300,000 cars passing by the building every week and the new Metro line running parallel, quite a few people have taken notice of the installation.
“We wanted to celebrate Chinese Laundry’s LA heritage and create something that felt like a post card from LA,” said Henry. “It’s our gift to anyone visiting, passing by, or looking for the perfect spot to snap their next Instagram.”
For more information on Chinese Laundry and Ricardo Gonzalez, visit chineselaundry.com and itsaliving.nyc.
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