Editor: Jon Swenson
Writer: Max Giese
Writer: Darryl HuntStunning ‘Shark City’ mural at Delmas Market in downtown San Jose
'SHARK CITY' street mural, Shelley, Nabokov and Shark head
'SHARK CITY' street mural, center, logo and skaters
'SHARK CITY' street mural, right, Marleau and Cheechoo
Two blocks from the front door of HP Pavilion in San Jose sits the nondescript Delmas Market on San Fernando and Delmas street. The neighborhood is a mix between old and new San Jose, and there are at least three forms of public transportation accessible nearby. The Delmas Market employees were friendly but spoke very little English.
Trying to run from the start of Tour of California cycling race in San Jose to the HP Pavilion parking lot to make it to the KOM climb on Sierra Road, an enormous San Jose Sharks mural on the back wall of a building stopped me in my tracks. At maybe 12×60 feet, the ‘Shark City’ mural at Delmas Market is impressive at a distance, and stunning up close.
According to CSULB student and artist/metalsmith Paul Demyser, the mural was started prior to the 2009 WCQF playoff series against Anaheim, and completed in part shortly before the drop of the puck for game 1. “There have been many really great graffiti murals around San Jose but no one has done a full out San Jose Sharks,” Demyser said. “Being the die-hard fans we are, we were looking for locations and Delmas was the perfect spot.”
A friend named Searius cleared the concept with the owner of the building, and Paul and a few others completed the fans, logo, and middle to lower right sections before heading to the Ducks-Sharks game at the tank. When Paul flew back down to Southern California, Iful, Fern, Medik, and Searius completed the work on the rink and the skaters for another month.
Paul notes that there is room to include subsequent material if the Sharks can extend their current playoff run another round.
A photo gallery of the mural is available here, but shot in the harsh noon light and broken up into different photos it is not the best representation. Paul has a photo of the complete mural on his flickr profile here.