Need a dose of color therapy to brighten the dreariest days of winter? A new public mural at the Crystal City Metro stop will do you good.Stretching 115 feet long and 20 feet high, “Harmonize” is the work of D.C. artist Lisa Marie Thalhammer, who in October was unanimously selected by the National Landing Business Improvement District (out of more than 30 submitting artists) to create the vibrant street art that now greets commuters and passersby at the top of the escalators.
A feminist activist and member of the LGBTQ community whose aesthetic centers on messages of strength and hope, Thalhammer, aka “The Rainbow Dragon,” is known for similar works such as the rainbow-hued “LOVE” mural in D.C.’s Blagden Alley.
“I like watching a place come alive with joy and wonderment,” she says. The Crystal City installation is designed to exude “a pleasing, meditative energy that embraces commuters in a hug of color. My murals turn overlooked spaces into portals of positivity.”