Urban Land Conservancy’s October Partner Spotlight of the Month: Esoteric Art!
Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) is proud to highlight the work of this month’s partner spotlight: Esoteric Art!
Esoteric Art is a dynamic father-son company that was founded in 2013 through the support of outstanding community members. Born out of familial collaboration between Patrick Kane McGregor and his son Tristan McGregor, Esoteric Art produces a wide range of projects including large scale murals, smaller intimate portraits, and highly visible advertisements across the country. They are highly involved in the Denver RiNo Art District, and you are likely to see them painting murals traveling through the city. Their hand-painted work successfully portray realistic dimension, and when viewing Esoteric’s work in person, it’s difficult to imagine it as anything other than a photograph.
Patrick and Tristan have both always held artistic inclinations. Tristan grew up constantly sketching and drawing, eventually transitioning to paint after watching his dad complete projects. Patrick remembers working on a project and wondering if Tristan might eventually grow into a future business partner.
“I was contracted to paint a large wall advertisement for the movie Step Up in Los Angeles in 2004,” Patrick explained. “I couldn’t find anyone to work the lift, so I brought Tristan along. Eventually, he picked up a brush to give it a go – and I knew he had a lot of raw talent.”
When Tristan formally partnered with his father in 2015, subsequently launching Esoteric Art, Patrick was thrilled to pass the torch, “or brush so to speak”. Patrick is working to create an identity as an artist with his muse, a bulldog, at the core of his realistic style. Tristan is more fluid in his creations and often takes inspiration from the projects Esoteric Art is contracted for.
“If building owners have a vision of what they’d like to put out into the world, Esoteric helps them achieve it through our art,” Tristan said.
Esoteric Art prides itself on partnerships, collaborations, and community, and has built their company values on these sentiments. Constantly collaborating with other artists and artistic communities, you will often find Patrick and Tristan completing projects with several artists who each bring forth a different style or skillset. Esoteric Art relies mostly on word-of-mouth outreach, and is working to build their social media and online presence to increase the number of partnerships with the artist community in both Denver and across the country.
When Tristan formally partnered with his father in 2015, subsequently launching Esoteric Art, Patrick was thrilled to pass the torch, “or brush so to speak”. Patrick is working to create an identity as an artist with his muse, a bulldog, at the core of his realistic style. Tristan is more fluid in his creations and often takes inspiration from the projects Esoteric Art is contracted for.
“If building owners have a vision of what they’d like to put out into the world, Esoteric helps them achieve it through our art,” Tristan said.
Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) was fortunate to partner with Esoteric Art earlier this year, with Tristan serving as lead artist on the creation and installation of a mural at ULC’s Mountain View Nonprofit Tower in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Mountain View is home to ULC’s headquarters and an incredibly diverse population of more than 15 nonprofit and mission minded organizations. As a real estate based nonprofit, ULC leases office space at Mountain View for a significantly discounted rate to ensure nonprofit organizations maximize their resources for programming and serving communities throughout Greater Denver region.
In an effort to demonstrate our role as a welcoming and inclusive neighbor, ULC commissioned a seven story mural incorporating the words love, peace, hope, community and inclusivity (just to name a few) in seven different languages. The building’s anchor tenant, Lutheran Family Services, served as the original inspiration for the mural. The refugee resettlement agency currently assists thousands of individuals each month, all of whom are new to the United States. “Welcoming a Diverse Community,” as the mural has since been named, was completed on September 16, 2019.
Esoteric worked around the clock with ULC to make the mural a reality, with support from community members and local businesses to fund the project in its entirety. The seven story mural required an eighty-foot boom lift (the price of which was fully donated by Sunbelt Rentals), a full year of designing, planning and community engagement and seven full days of painting. Today, the mural stands proudly on the south facing wall of Mountain View, serving as a consistent reminder the strength and resilience of the community served within its doors.
“When Esoteric was contacted by ULC to paint a seven story mural encompassing a range of community-focused words, we welcomed the challenge and the opportunity,” said Tristan. “And now that it is complete, it’s safe to say we are really proud of the end result. I believe this mural will serve as a reminder that cities are healthier places when its people don’t become divided.”
For more information on Esoteric, check out their Facebook page, website, and their Instagram’s esotericartdenver, tristanmcgregor, and patrickkanemcgregor.