Big walls, big art

New York artist designs the façade of the a&o Köln Neumarkt with XXL graffiti

Cologne, 29th October 2026 – Interview with Timothy Goodman: "The reason I make art is to connect to other human beings"

1. How would you describe what you do, in a few sentences? How would you like your work to be perceived?

I'm an artist, designer, author, muralist. I've done a lot of things in my career from commercial work for massive brands like YSL, Nike, Apple, to creating cultural work for the city of NYC, to writing books and creating social experiments. I've always been interested in breaking down the boundaries between art, design, and life. I can be drawing on a basketball court for kids in Brooklyn, making clothes for Uniqlo, spray painting a sanitation truck in NYC, or writing something deeply personal about heartbreak or therapy. One project may be commercial, one may be cultural, and one may be personal, but they're all inherently me.

Ultimately, the reason I make art is to connect to other human beings. I want the work to feel direct, human, accessible, and hopefully make somebody feel something. Art is the thing people forget they need until they need it.

2. Is there an artwork (by anyone) that holds special meaning for you, and why?

Keith Haring has always been a hero of mine, especially his public work. It's not really one specific piece as much as his entire approach to making art. Haring once said, "I assumed, after all, that the point of making art was to communicate and contribute to culture." I've carried that idea with me for a long time. I've created more than 250 murals, and there's still something amazing to me about putting art directly into people's everyday lives.

3. How do you approach a large-scale wall like this one? How much is planned and how much is spontaneous?

I always start with the idea. I want the idea to dictate the style and execution, not the other way around. I'll have certain words, phrases, and themes planned out, but I freestyle most of the actual drawing directly on the wall. I love that tension of having a plan but not knowing exactly what the final thing will look like until I'm making it. And weirdly, before art school, I spent three years working for a house painter in Cleveland. So I guess I've been preparing for giant walls my entire life.

4. What drew you to this project? What conditions need to be in place for you to take on a commission?

I love making work in public space, so the scale and visibility of this project immediately excited me. There's something very different about making something that becomes part of a street or a neighborhood rather than something people have to intentionally seek out.

For any commission, I need to feel like there's enough trust and freedom for me to actually make something that feels like me. Of course there are parameters but I don't want to just decorate something.

5. What is the title of the piece, and why?

"People Love People" – This is for everyday people in Cologne, from someone in NYC, that will be shown online for the world. We're all connected through love.

6. What will guests and passersby encounter here? What story are you telling, and how did it come about?

More broadly, I want someone walking by to stop and try to figure out what's going on. And take a picture! That's one of the things I love about public art. Maybe somebody spends ten minutes looking at it, maybe somebody sees it every morning on their way to work, and maybe somebody glances at it for three seconds from across the street. All of those experiences are valid.A lot of my work starts from something personal but hopefully becomes universal. I write about love, relationships, depression, therapy, politics, manhood, New York, whatever I'm thinking about. The specifics may be mine, but the feelings usually aren't. That connection is what I'm always chasing.

7. How local is the motif, and how universal?

I think the best work can be both. Something can respond specifically to Cologne – to the architecture, people, history, or energy of a place – but the emotion or idea underneath it shouldn't require you to be from Cologne to understand it. That's something I've learned through making murals in different cities and countries. We obviously have different cultures and experiences, but so many of the things we think about every day are universal: love, fear, belonging, loneliness, humor, relationships, wanting to be seen. The more personal and specific I've gotten with my work over the years, strangely, the more universal it has become.

8. What role can art in public space play here? How do you hope people will respond?

Public art can create a sense of ownership and pride in a street or a community, but I also think we can over-intellectualize this stuff sometimes. Sometimes it's enough for someone to turn a corner, see something unexpected, and have their day interrupted for a second.

That's what I love about murals. Art shouldn't only be for people who go to museums or galleries. Public art meets you where you are.

The greatest joy I can have as an artist is connecting to another human being through something I made. I don't need everyone to respond the same way. Maybe you love it. Maybe you hate it. Maybe you photograph it, laugh at something in it, or it makes you think about your own life for thirty seconds. I just want there to be an exchange.

9. How do you choose your colors, and why these ones for Cologne?

Generally, with murals I love keeping it black and white or black with one color accent. Color for me works the same way everything else does: it serves the idea. I'm not interested in picking colors just because they're fashionable or because they look good together. Especially at this scale, color becomes part of how the piece communicates from far away.

10. Did you know Cologne before this project, or is this your first time here?

I've been to Berlin several times, but this is my first time in Cologne! I've heard nothing but great times. I'm very excited.