“It was always firmly hidden in a small forest,” Pener says of this wall he has been painting for the last 20 years. Like many graffiti artists who gravitate to abandoned margins of post-industrial landscapes, Pener’ discovered’ this wall and revisited it to paint, thinking it was unknown to many.

“Hardly anyone knew about her and visited her,” he says. “It was more like a private wall than a hall of fame.”

Now he has a larger audience. The property is now rehabilitated, and all that forest has been cleared. His new fiery composition rages with the summer heat, bringing to mind the fires that rage over parts of the earth this time of year. When winter’s severity keeps everyone inside again, and it will, Pener’s summer heat may appear as a dream.

The wall has opened up many possibilities for the street artist/studio artist. While he’s happy to exhibit his work here, you can tell he longs for the quiet solitude of his formerly secreted location. “Very interesting how its perception changes. It’s like a new opening,” he says. “I can’t get used to it all the time.”

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