Simes Studios – traditionally inspired murals

Simes Studios is the Chicago based studio of Jorge and Cindy Simes who have been creating the most remarkable murals, trompe l’oeil and a wide range of decorative finishes ever since they arrived from Buenos Aires in 1988.  Modenus interviewed Jorge earlier this year with a  focus on his eglomisé work and Simes Studios have now sent us pictures of their murals, Cindy’s specialty,  which we would like to share with you.

The baroque dome, top left, was painted on site in a private home.  A special scaffolding was built for the artists to paint and move around comfortably. The result is spectacular. The other pictures show the panoramic view, painted in sepia artist oils on canvas and installed on site, in the formal dining room of the same house.

This is a detail of a large mural painted on site, in a family room, entirely in Art Nouveau style. Beautifully executed design and finishes and unafraid of a bit of whimsy. Inspired by the Italian countryside, and executed in pre-impressionistic style this mural in a formal dining room in  Chicago was painted on canvas and installed on site. The little statue, by the way, is from a plaza in Florence.

These murals were painted with caseins on textured, gessoed jute canvas. Adapted images from Mantegna’s Camera degli Sposi, in Mantua. All proportions, colors and other aspects of the artwork are faithful copies of the original. The main change is in the layout of the images, as this group of 62 canvasses were then  laid out according to the restaurant’s floor plan and elevations.

This expressive text is based on Dante’s Divine Comedy. It was painted on canvas at Simes Studios and installed on site in the lucky client’s breakfast room.

And finally, for now – because we are sure to return to Cindy and Jorge’s remarkable work, a  trompe l’oeil tree house, in a Chicago private residence. You can see more examples of work from Simes Studios on Modenus.