It’s been a while since I’ve posted in the StreetArt community, and I don’t know why, hehe. Since something I really enjoy is looking for cool murals and taking pictures of them whenever I can. I saw the ones I’m sharing today in Chicago, one during my visit last June and the other when I was there last winter.
These murals are by an artist named Ryan Tova Katz. She has a website where she showcases her artwork and the murals she’s designed, which are mostly scattered throughout Chicago and the surrounding area.
We spotted this first mural I’m showing you one day while walking to a grocery store in Hyde Park, on S. Harper Ave., in the southern part of the city.
On the artist’s website, I see that the mural is titled Ezra Frees the Sky. The girl on the ladder seems to be removing bricks from the wall to reveal the sky.
When we passed by there I wanted to stop and take a closer look at the mural. I thought it created such a beautiful contrast against that apartment building.
When I saw it, I don’t know why, but I thought of a mural I’d seen in December while walking with my son to a restaurant in the Wicker Park neighborhood. We were walking down N. Damen Ave. when I saw it. It was pretty dark, and I wanted to go back to take a better photo of the mural during the day, but I never had a chance to do it.
The mural depicts a man carrying a small child. According to her website, the artist titled it If I Could Stop Time.
And it’s so true that children grow up so fast. How many times have we wished we could stop the clock as our kids grow up, so that time would pass more slowly?
As I browsed the muralist's website further, I discovered that she also created this mural in Andersonville, which I had already mentioned in A stroll through Andersonville, Chicago. It's a rather different style, but colorful and eye-catching.
Which of the three murals did you like more?
Thank you for reading.
All images and writing are my own unless otherwise stated.
© CoquiCoin
October 23, 2026