The visage of Sarasota Chalk Festival founder Denise Kowal is emblazoned on the black-washed wall of the Sarasota Fight and Fitness Club. Will street artist MTO’s latest work be able to hold its own, or will its detractors knock it down for the count and send it the way of Fast Life?

Berlin-based street artist, MTO, simply cannot seem to stay away from Sarasota, although it does not appear that his relationship with the city is a particularly sunny one these days. Less than a month after his controversial ‘Fast Life’ mural was whitewashed from the Tube Dude’s building, the artist returned to Sarasota to create a second mural practically right next door at Sarasota Architectural Salvage—and this time, um, guys… He’s pissed. The mural depicts a larger-than-life doctor, the collar of his Hawaiian shirt peeking from beneath his lab coat as [...]

Everyone has probably heard by now that the controversial MTO ‘Fast Life’ mural was painted over on April 7. Perhaps it’s just me, but the circus surrounding the mural was actually more interesting than the work of art itself. In summary, French street artist, MTO, installed the mural on the Tube Dude building in November as part of the Going Vertical initiative during the 2011 Sarasota Chalk Festival. The artist chose to depict an image of two downturned hands, fingers crossed, with a message tattooed across them reading “Fast Life.” [...]