By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
EAST VILLAGE — A Chinese performance artist painted himself into a popular mural on Houston Street Tuesday, using his trademark camouflage style to blend in with the well-known work.
Liu Bolin, who is known for covering his entire body in paint to match his subjects, chose street artist Kenny Scharf's massive mural near the Bowery for his American debut.
The Wooster Collective and Eli Klein Fine Art teamed up to bring Bolin to the U.S. from China, picking the wall made famous by pop artist Keith Haring to stage his first stateside performance.
"It's really an iconic wall in New York City," said Sara Schiller of the Wooster Collective, as Bolin stood motionless and not speaking against the wall Tuesday.
"We bought him to New York to do a series of murals, and we came here first."
Bolin began by painting himself into the center of the mural in the morning, and then repainted himself in another location along the piece in the afternoon.
His work acts as a demonstration against the Chinese government, which demolished his art studio, Schiller explained.
Bolin is planning to paint himself into another piece near Ground Zero during his visit, she added.
The Houston Street wall has showcased the works of a host of rotating street artists, including Shepard Fairey and Barry McGee.
