Artist Pays Tribute to Anthony Bourdain With New Santa Monica Mural

One of LA’s most prolific artists paid a stunning tribute to Anthony Bourdain on June 15. The 13-foot-tall mural is painted on the side of Santa Monica’s new Gramercy bar. Jonas Never revealed the mural last Friday, which is visible from both Wilshire and 25th Street. The famous and beloved chef died on June 8.

Gramercy owners Travis Clemens Santos and Troy Donnel originally hired Never to paint a sign, but Never noticed an empty wall and suggested he paint a tribute to Bourdain. The partners agreed and Never completed the piece in two days. Never regularly pays tribute for fallen celebrities, including a mural at Rockin’ Pies for Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington. The recording artist hung himself in 2017. Never paid for both murals out of his own pocket.

Never creates what he describes as realistic, nostalgic, and location specific murals. He’s built a number of murals on LA businesses, bars, restaurants, including all locations for Rockin’ Pies Pizza Company, Silver Lake’s Wood Pizza, Birdies in Downtown, and Old Stump Brewing in Pomona. He just completed murals at the forthcoming Baby Blues BBQ in Echo Park.

Jonas Never

• Artist Honors Celeb Chef With Lifelike Mural [TMZ]
• LA Food World Reacts to Anthony Bourdain’s Death [ELA]
• What Anthony Bourdain Meant for Cuisines Othered by So Many [ELA]