Painting the Town From downtown to Midtown and beyond, Marty Kotis is putting Greensboro at the forefront of street art
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By Maria Johnson • Photographs by Amy Freeman
e’s not an artist. He never studied art. Never collected it. Never particularly noticed it. Heck, he wasn’t even a comic book kid. But in the last two years, Greensboro real estate developer Marty Kotis — an only child who followed his father Bill into the business — has emerged as a champion of street art, splashy outdoor art writ large, often in the form of spray-painted murals. This isn’t some guy noodling around on a bridge with a can of Rust-Oleum. This is a deep-pockets patron who’s pushing polished, professional work. Done with permission. And paychecks for internationally known artists. As a result, Greensboro perches on the front row of a global art movement. “The really weird thing is seeing these artists from all over the world in Greensboro, North Carolina – like, little ole Greensboro,” says local street artist Brian Lewis, who is professionally known as JEKS. “You know, we’re a small town compared to the rest of the world, but we have some of the best murals. It’s cool to have that caliber of art here” To earn that distinction for the city, Kotis has shelled out a chunk of change — estimates climb well into six figures — for more than 40 pieces, ranging from small graffiti “throw-ups” to beautifully nuanced portraits that jump out from big walls, many of them in the Kotis stronghold of Midtown.
54 O.Henry
September 2018
That a developer would pay for more than necessities in his buildings is unusual. That he would pay for adornments that last, on average, 10 years before they need refreshing or painting over, is remarkable. But Kotis sees his investment as an extension of what he’s been doing since he joined his dad’s business in the mid-1990s. “I’ve always been interested in changing the landscape of a city,” he says. “I’ve been curating buildings for a long time. Now, I’m curating art.” Bearded yet boyish at age 49, he tosses off the names of street artists — usually one-word handles such as Adnate, Belin, DOES, DAAS and DANK— with ease. He checks his Instagram feed several times a day to see what they’re up to. He follows individuals and aggregators who gather and share images. Greensboro swims in that sea, too. Every time a significant piece goes up, the city gets tagged in posts that are cast upon the waters of social media. “That’s shared all over the world,” says Kotis. “We had a guy come in from New York just to look at our art. He’s a freelance writer who covers a of lot street art. He pointed out that our pieces are much larger than what you would find in New York, and our art tends to stay up longer.” Kotis has tinkered with interior and exterior art since 2010 when he bought, renamed and revamped the Darryl’s restaurant on Gate City Boulevard, the last location of a once-popular chain that was born in North Carolina. He hired local artists to paint witty bar signs and vignettes when he reopened the restaurant as Darryl’s Wood Fired Grill. The Art & Soul of Greensboro