BUFFALO, N.Y. — Some call Joe Vollan's new mural pop surrealism.

Some call it really strange.

What You Need To Know

  • Local artist Joe Vollan has almost finished his new mural, "The Queen City Procession"

  • Vollan says people on Hertel frequently interact with him while painting the pop surrealist art

  • Revolution Gallery will unveil the finished product next Thursday if weather allows

"The Queen City Processional" features a skeleton in a wolf suit, a cat playing a concertina, a skeleton with a raven's head, and other assorted oddball characters influenced by people who Vollan runs into.

"Their moods and styles are inspired by different people I meet, or different situations I’m in," he said. "I’m talking to someone, an interesting person, and it sticks with you. I put that into a character."

Vollan has worked on the new mural since August, and he says reception has been largely positive.

"There’s just all kinds of people that stop and say hello and tell me that they’ve been watching the progress of the mural," he said. "They like what they see.

Hertel isn't new territory for Vollan. His art has been featured at Revolution Gallery for nearly four years. Craig LaRotonda and Maria Pabico LaRotonda, the husband-and-wife duo that own the gallery, are proud to show off his work.

"There’s nobody else, at all, that does anything close to what Joe does in Buffalo," said Craig. "We’re fortunate to have his work. He’s really world-class."

If weather permits, the finished work will be unveiled next Thursday, the day before Halloween.