Despite Utah’s fickle spring weather — through rain, wind, and a little bit of heat — Kelly Graval toiled away to bring the mundane South Salt Lake wall to life.
Midweek, he’s wearing an all black outfit, splattered in a kaleidoscope of paint colors that have also dripped onto his leather phone case. The bold and bright tones can be color matched to the previously plain wall he’s painting at 340 West Andy Ave.
In just two days, Graval, better known by his graffiti tag RISK, along with two helpers, Brian Graget and Nathan Barton, transformed the wall, which pops with hues of nearly every color imaginable.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Mural artist RISK with one of his assistants, during the South Salt Lake Mural Fest, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
“My public murals are very different than my gallery work [and] my graffiti,” Graval told The Salt Lake Tribune during a break in painting on Wednesday. “My public murals are more like color-filled murals … to evoke emotional color.”
Graval, considered one of the founders of the West Coast graffiti scene, is one of 13 mural artists working away in South Salt Lake this week for the latest round of additions to the Mural Festival.
To capture the perfect palette of colors, Graval did what he always does when he paints in a new place — he drove around for hours, taking in the surroundings, and picking out colors that resonate with him.
He drove from Park City, to Holladay, to South Salt Lake — which will be home to almost 80 murals once this year’s iteration of the festival wraps up.
Graval, who started the freight train art movement in Los Angeles, has worked on a variety of different projects, like painting sets for major musicians such as Michael Jackson, Aerosmith and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Mural artist RISK talks about the mural he is painting for the South Salt Lake Mural Fest, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
Now, he’ll leave his artistic mark in South Salt Lake.
Graval’s mural on West Andy Avenue, which has yet to be named, features his signature butterflies fluttering across a multicolor canvas. Soon the iconic butterflies will be joined by circles and lines, the “most deconstructive form of graffiti,” he said.
The mural resides in South Salt Lake’s industrial Freeway Plaza. In college, when they were asked to paint still lifes (a painting that depicts inanimate objects), Graval painted a stack of paint cans. In his truck, boxes of different colors of spray paint lay at the ready.
“It’s just being a product of your environment that just kind of draws me to stuff like this,” he said about adding a bright pop of color in areas people may not expect to find massive walls of art.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Mural by RISK during the South Salt Lake Mural Fest, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
Graval said he will be honored by the National Mural Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
A few streets away, South Salt Lake’s City Hall is also a part of the festival. Last year, Texas artist DAAS painted the back wall of the building. This year, he finished the project by painting the entire north and west sides of the building. The mural, around 9,000 square feet, is Utah’s only city hall covered in public art.
The murals — past and present — sprawl across the 7-square mile city, in what has been dubbed the “Creative Industry Zone” or the downtown area of South Salt Lake. They’re tucked away on the walls of businesses, parking structures, and walls flanking the area where the UTA Trax runs through the city.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) GOMAD works on a mural project during the South Salt Lake Mural Fest, on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Mantra works on a mural during the South Salt Lake Mural Fest, on Thursday, May 8, 2025.
On the far back wall in the parking lot of City Hall, one of two local artists this year, Connor Weight is at work. His mural, a bright pink homage to kindness, is a result of teaming up with One Kind Act A Day and Promise South Salt Lake.
Weight had some special helpers add to his mural — local school children from the nearby Woodrow Elementary. Together, Weight and the kids discussed what kind of symbols represent kindness before the students added their own touch to the mural.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Local artist Connor Weight paints a mural for the South Salt Lake Mural Fest, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
“I’ve been playing with a lot of geometric shapes in my own art practice,” Weight said, pulling out purple paint from his car to add to the mural. The mural features birds, hearts, circles and stars, all with a distinct boxy quality. Even the font of “Be Kind” has strong, blocky cut lines.
“I wanted it to feel super light-hearted [and] to bring something really positive to the community,” Weight said.
As someone born and raised in SLC, Weight said he is excited to see the state come to life with public art — and especially seeing that legacy continue to grow in South Salt Lake year after year.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Local artist Connor Weight paints a mural for the South Salt Lake Mural Fest, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
2025 marks the eighth annual mural festival in South Salt Lake. On Saturday, May 10, community members can attend the official unveiling of all 13 new murals via a DIY mural walk from 4 to 8 p.m. Artists will be present for a meet-and-great and a community celebration will happen on Bowers Way and West Temple with food trucks, music and vendors. These maps outline all 79 murals and the 2025 murals.
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