After loss of mural, Highwood finds new artistic energy — to be unveiled Wednesday

When construction wiped away a Highwood mural in March, many residents wondered if something would fill the void. 

Their answer arrives this week as renowned artist Chris Chillemi, known as Chris RWK, brings his first sculpture and a solo exhibition to town, giving local art lovers a fresh reason to gather and celebrate creativity in the community.

A New York City-based artist, Chris RWK will unveil his sculpture, “For Giving” during Celebrate Highwood’s Evening Gourmet Market on Wednesday, June 10, 341 Waukegan Ave., and then offer his solo exhibition, “I Left My Heart in Illinois,” fro June 11-27 at Silvertuna Studios & Collect with Lulu, 524 Sheridan Road in Highwood. The artist will be on hand at the gallery on Thursday, June 11.

Artist Anna Murphy’s “I Dream in Blue” mural was covered during renovations on a building for new restaurant Avec at 244 Waukegan Road. And local art curators Laura “Lulu” Reich and CJ “Koz” Kozloff have worked to find something new.

RWK — whose mural “Love is Louder,” sits in Everts Park, 111 North Ave., in the heart of Highwood — has been a favorite of Reich and Kozloff, and they’ve long hoped to collaborate with the artist.

RWK is known for his “Robots Will Kill” art series, featuring robots that serve as “a symbol for emotional states, resilience, vulnerability and the tension between machine and humanity,” according to the artist’s website. 

The Highwood sculpture, “For Giving,” will feature RWK’s iconic robot figure holding a heart, “the work reflects both the act of offering love and the openness required to receive it,” says a statement from RWK.

Art in Highwood

Reich and Kozloff are significant figures in Highwood’s art movement.

Owner of Collect with Lulu, Reich is an art advisor, curator, consultant and Highland Park native, while Kozloff, her fiance and owner of Silvertuna Studios, is an artist, curator, consultant and New York City native. They met in New York City before moving to Highwood in September of last year. 

“We fell in love after doing a lot of crazy events, shows and projects together,” Reich said. 

The couple is most known for their participation in the citywide beautification and mural project in 2024 during the inaugural Celebrate Highwood International Mural Festival.

Kozloff and Reich created a dozen street murals in an effort to encourage healing from the Highland Park shooting in 2022. 

The murals made an impact, Kozloff said.

“People come to us and say, ‘Oh you guys are the ones that put up the murals? We changed our car routes to see more of the murals,’” he said. 

He recalled, “This one dude we met, he lost 150 pounds, since we met him two years ago. He started leaving and walking out of his house when we were painting the murals to see all this amazing work being done. He is in so much better health now.” 

Kozloff and Reich love the energy the murals bring to Highwood, which they call an “art city.” 

“This is the way I can affect people positively and bring good energy,” Kozloff said. “The world needs more of that.” 

Kozloff and Reich also appreciate that Highwood is willing to preserve its community art. 

“I think the best part is that every single person that’s coming in here has just shared their positive experience with how these murals make them feel,” Kozloff said. “We never really got that in New York City because murals would go up one day and would be gone the next sometimes, or painted over within a month. Here, they want to secure them for 20 years, so we have mural shielded and graffiti shielded all of them. That’s unheard of in New York City.” 

Connecting with RWK

Kozloff and Reich have known RWK for more than a decade and have seen him evolve as an artist.

To Kozloff, RWK has the “most iconic character in all of street art” in his robot.

“To see him going from selling a handful of pieces to selling out 100 pieces in one night in New York City is insane,” Kozloff said. “It was nice to see him get the shine and recognition because he deserves it. Now, his robots are everywhere.” 

Kozloff said that RWK is friendly and approachable and “everyone who meets him wants to be friends with him.”

They hope he continues making an impact on Highwood

“So much love goes into all of his [RWK] work,” Reich said. “I am always so impressed even from the title of his work, quality, thoughtfulness and attention to detail.” 

“His art is like you are buying a piece of his brain almost,” Kozloff added. “Essentially, his art is like a piece of him because he is spending so much time doing it.” 

They also hope Murphy, with her mural now gone, brings back some work to Highwood.

Reich and Kozloff said they are looking for another space for a mural, contingent on funding. 

“A lot of people are quite devastated, including ourselves, to see the Anna Murphy mural no longer visible,” Reich said. “But I would love to have her come back and try to find some art supporters that might help us fundraise to be able to afford her now that she is getting so much fame.” 

But for now, robots are coming to town.

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