Artist Vitek Kruta breaks down some elements of the restored mural.
Reminder Publishing photos by Trent Levakis
NORTHAMPTON — A presentation event was hosted at the Hampshire Probate & Family Court House on Oct. 15 to unveil and celebrate artist Vitek Kruta’s salvaging and restoration of a 10-by-18-foot mural of the Oxbow.
The mural was rescued from a vacant court building slated for demolition.
For 15 years, Kruta’s sweeping mural of the Oxbow greeted families, lawyers and staff at the Hampshire Probate and Family Court’s stairwell on King Street.
When the court moved to its new building on Atwood Drive in 2019, the mural was believed to be too large and fragile to move, leaving it behind in the old courthouse that has stood empty ever since and is now slated for demolition.
What appeared to be an unfortunate end to the piece eventually turned into a new beginning. Through a chance conversation earlier this year, someone mentioned the “immovable” mural, and when hearing of it, Kruta became determined to not see his work destroyed, offering his time and skill to give the mural a second life.
“This mural is more than just paint on a wall,” Kruta said. “It’s part of our shared legacy. I’m honored it has a new home.”
With the help of Register of Probate Mark Ames, Kruta returned to the vacant courthouse and began carefully removing the abandoned mural piece by piece. The mural, measured 10 feet high by 18 feet wide, was transported to Kruta’s studio where he has spent months during the year painstakingly restoring its colors and details.
The mural has impressed many for its subtle pieces of local lore, including an image of a book with the Native American names of the cities and towns served by the court. It also features an image of an older Northampton in the distance by the Oxbow, as well as the mountain ranges surrounding the valley.
Now, the mural is reinstalled in its new home at the Atwood Drive courthouse, ensuring that visitors and staff can continue to enjoy the sweeping vision of the Oxbow for years to come.
“When you approached Vitek’s piece in the stairwell where it was, from either direction, you felt as if you were stepping into it and looking out over the Oxbow of the Connecticut River. It would take a moment to orient yourself in the piece, and for a moment, be transported from an institutional place, to a place of peace and beauty that our entire community can see is a remarkable work of art,” said Ames. “This mural is part of the court’s history and the community’s story. We’re incredibly grateful to Vitek for bringing it back to life.”
During the presentation event, Kruta mentioned his daughter had helped him paint the mural. His daughter, who now lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was 16 at the time. He also thanked some of his team members present at the event who assisted on the restoration, as well as his partner Lori Divine.
Kruta came to America from Germany where he spent the 10 years prior restoring castles and churches.
“As an artist and restorer, I always live by the philosophy that the word decoration, also means to dignify. You know, you decorate soldiers, you decorate homes, you decorate everything that is really dear to us and important to us. And so, when I was approached to create this mural, I approached it with the same feeling and idea. It was the idea that people who come to these environments, and they are stressful, they really can calm down and find a dignity in the human drama that we are all dealing with.”
In closing of the presentation event for the restored mural, Kruta also introduced Gateway Artisan Studios, a collective of skilled professionals dedicated to creating original and one-of-a-kind work across a range of disciplines. Offerings will include decorative paintings of interiors, exteriors, furniture or 3D objects, murals and scenic paintings, restoration work for many different forms of art, and more.
More information on the new group can be found at gatewayartisanstudios.com.
“It is not a place, and it is not a company. It is just an umbrella and there will be many artisans and artists working under that umbrella, but in their own studios perhaps,” Kruta explained. “But when big projects like church restorations and things like that, you need all the help and all the expertise there is. When the project is done, everybody disperses into their studios and all that. Running a big company like that is impossible in these days so it’s a perfect situation for a collective working.”
