A 10-by-10-foot chalk portrait of Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio has taken shape on the plaza outside Chase Tower in downtown Milwaukee, drawn by local chemist Katie Bogan.
The artwork was commissioned by Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21, and sits by the Riverwalk at the Chase Tower plaza at 111 E. Wisconsin Ave., according to the outlet. Bogan, who describes herself on her website as a 24-year-old chemist and artist based in Milwaukee, picked Chourio as her subject after asking her Instagram followers to name their favorite Brewers player — and the young outfielder won in a landslide, per the report.
Bogan's path to the sidewalk wasn't exactly a straight line from the lab. She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, graduating in 2023, and now works as an environmental consultant specializing in air quality for a power generation company while pursuing a master's degree in environmental policy and management.
A Longtime Chalk Artist
Chalk art isn't a new hobby for Bogan — she has participated in chalk festivals since 2010, according to her site.
Bogan's chalk artwork is a portrait of Chourio.
A New Fan Goes All In
Bogan moved to Milwaukee about a year before the portrait went up, and by her own account she wasn't much of a baseball fan before the move. She has said she wasn't interested in baseball previously and is now obsessed, crediting her relocation with turning her into a diehard Brewers fan — and she's predicted the team will win the World Series.
She has described her sidewalk process as a kind of meditative performance art, one that invites the public to watch and interact as the portrait comes together. The temporary nature of the work is part of the appeal, she has said, arguing that it brings people joy precisely because they have to experience it in the moment rather than later.
Catch It Before the Rain Does
Monday is expected to offer the best chance to see the finished portrait in person, with Tuesday potentially providing another window depending on weather and whether the piece gets tarped overnight, per the station's report. The portrait is set to remain on display during the Brewers' postseason run as weather permits, though Bogan has acknowledged that the artwork will simply disappear once rain arrives.
Milwaukee Downtown has backed similar temporary public-art projects before. In 2021, the Inside Out Project installed large-scale portraits of community members on the very same Chase Tower plaza, while a separate chalk mural featuring more than 40 colors appeared at the Marcus Performing Arts Center that same summer, according to Milwaukee Downtown. That year the organization and New Land Enterprises also commissioned Chicago artist Matthew Hoffman for a temporary mural downtown.
For Bogan, the project doubles as something of a philosophy statement. She hopes her blend of science and art shows people they can pursue creativity without turning every passion into a profession, and she has advised others to simply make time for what they love and to keep creating more than they consume.
