A Love Letter to the City

In 1999, Stephen Powers stopped writing graffiti and dedicated himself to being a full-time artist. He used his Fulbright grant in 2007 to paint the streets of Dublin and Belfast. From there, he teamed up with other sign mechanics and executed a large-scale mural project in his hometown of Philadelphia titled A Love Letter for You.

Those signs as well as his hand-painted love letters on the walls and roofs of Brooklyn, Syracuse, Sao Paolo, and Johannesburg are collected in a new book A Love Letter to the City.

All this month he’s been has been leaving his mark on New York’s Strand bookstore — as he says, “sneaking around the aisles and painting little love letters to reading and writing.” Tomorrow, March 25th, he will finish up his paintings to coincide with a book launch party at 7pm.

(Images from the book provided by Princeton Architectural Press.)

Photo Credit: Steve Powers

Photo Credit: Matthew Kuborn

Photo Credit: Matthew Kuborn

Photo Credit: Flavio Samelo

Photo Credit: Adam Wallacavage