King Kong — Carlos Alberto GH, New Rochelle
Carlos Alberto GH · New Roc City Plaza, 33 LeCount Place · New Rochelle, New York, USA
Photo: Carlos Alberto GH (his watermark is on the image), from the Street Art Utopia archive; capture date unrecorded. Artwork: Carlos Alberto GH, 2022. Full photograph shown; resized for display.
A giant gorilla leans out beside a painted skyscraper near the cinemas at New Roc City, and his hand seems to come right out of the wall and onto the sidewalk. Carlos Alberto GH painted King Kong in 2022 as an interactive 3-D “selfie” stop: step into the right spot and you appear to stand in Kong’s palm. Talk of the Sound · New Rochelle Council on the Arts · Public Art Archive Checked
5 things to know
- Made to be stepped intoThe Art Walk route lists the wall as an “interactive 3-D ‘selfie’ stop”, and CBS New York described how the gorilla spills onto the sidewalk. The arts council says visitors who pose correctly appear to be standing in the palm of Kong’s hand. Talk of the Sound · CBS New York · NRCA release Checked
- The arts council paid for itThe New Rochelle Council on the Arts funded King Kong with support from an ArtsWestchester ReStart the Arts grant. The same grant paid for his second interactive wall, Water Sports, on the pedestrian bridge over I-95. Talk of the Sound · NRCA release Checked
- A cinema icon outside a cinemaThe wall is at New Roc City, near the Regal cinema complex; the council calls the gorilla a homage to the cinema icon. CBS New York also placed it near the movie theaters. NRCA release · CBS New York Checked
- Hardware-store paintAccording to the arts council, Alberto worked with house paint from Home Depot, applied through a sprayer. NRCA release Reported
- One of four Carlos Alberto walls in townThe 2022 Art Walk listed four of his murals in New Rochelle: King Kong, Water Sports, a Family Court mural and Mexican Community at 210 Union Avenue. The Family Court wall is called Flowers in one listing and Peace and Justice in others. Talk of the Sound · Patch · NRCA mural map Checked
Two people in the palm
Check-in guide
- 📍
- New Roc City Plaza, 33 LeCount Place, New Rochelle, NY 10801, near the movie theaters. Public Art Archive · Talk of the Sound · CBS New York Checked
- 🤳
- Stand on the painted hand and have your photo taken from straight in front; the council warns that from some angles the image does not “read” at all. NRCA release Reported
- 🗺️
- The council’s NRNY mural map numbers the downtown walls, so King Kong can be combined with the other #NRNYmurals on foot. NRCA mural map (PDF) Checked
Sightings
- 202228 Apr
Unveiling announced
- 202228 Apr
CBS New York report
- 20223 May
Art Walk photos on Patch
- 202225 May
Arts council release
- 2022Jul
On the NRCA mural map
- 202221 Sep
Archive record: on view
All stamps are publication or record dates; none of the photographs we found carries a camera date. The status stamp follows the newest dated item, the Public Art Archive record last updated on 21 September 2022, which lists the mural on view at New Roc City Plaza. The July stamp is the month the map was uploaded to the council’s site. We found no later dated photograph, so whether the wall is still there today is unconfirmed.
On the record
Off the wall
“a mural of King Kong spills onto the sidewalk to create an Instagram-able interactive illusion”
Tony Aiello’s report on the new downtown murals, filed before the Art Walk.
Why a gorilla
“At New Roc City – near the Regal Cinema complex – he chose to create a giant gorilla in homage to cinema icon King Kong.”
The commissioner’s release, published by ArtsWestchester.
Find the spot
“Alberto has mastered perspective: Indeed, from certain angles the image doesn’t “read” at all.”
The same release on how the illusion depends on where you stand.
The facts
- Work
- King Kong, an interactive 3-D mural. Public Art Archive · Talk of the Sound · NRCA mural map Checked
- Artist
- Carlos Alberto, who signs as Carlos Alberto GH. Public Art Archive · Street Art for Mankind · Talk of the Sound Checked A Mexican artist from Guadalajara, trained as an art conservator, according to the organisers’ biography. Talk of the Sound Reported
- Location
- New Roc City Plaza, 33 LeCount Place, New Rochelle, New York 10801. Public Art Archive · Street Art for Mankind · Talk of the Sound Checked
- Date
- 2022; presented on the Art Walk of 1 May 2022. Public Art Archive · NRCA mural map · Talk of the Sound, 1 May Checked
- Commission
- Funded by the New Rochelle Council on the Arts with an ArtsWestchester ReStart the Arts grant; part of the #NRNYmurals curated by Street Art for Mankind. Talk of the Sound · NRCA release · Street Art for Mankind Checked
- Technique
- House paint applied with a sprayer, according to the arts council. NRCA release Reported
- 2022 round
- Talk of the Sound counted nine new murals; CBS New York, News 12, Street Art for Mankind and the council’s own mural map say twelve; the council’s release speaks of 20 new SAM-curated murals. Talk of the Sound · CBS New York · News 12 · Street Art for Mankind · NRCA mural map · NRCA release Conflicting The counts may cover different groups of walls; none of the sources explains its count.
- Record
- Public Art Archive record submitted by Street Art for Mankind for the collections of the New Rochelle Council on the Arts and the City of New Rochelle; material paint; exterior wall. Public Art Archive Checked
- Photographs
- The hero photo carries the artist’s watermark; the second is credited to Dave Lee. Neither has a recorded capture date. Street Art Utopia archive Unconfirmed
- Status
- Seen September 2022: the newest dated record lists the mural on view. Public Art Archive Checked Its condition today is not established by any dated source we found. Unconfirmed
Related
- You Know These Faces (10 Photos): the Street Art Utopia collection that includes this wall.
- People call him Kong, and he seems to be a King: Street Art Utopia’s 2024 post with both photographs.
- Alice in Wonderland in Brande: a Carlos Alberto GH gable mural with its own Artwork File.
All sources (10)
Contemporary reporting
- Talk of the Sound: New Rochelle Unveils Nine Murals By Acclaimed International Artists, Robert Cox, 28 April 2022. Art Walk route (“New Roc City Plaza: King Kong by Carlos Alberto”), funding line and artist biography. Independent local news.
- Talk of the Sound: Art Walk Winds Way Through Nine New Murals, Robert Cox, 1 May 2022. Same route on the day of the walk; same outlet, counted once.
- CBS New York: Artists bring large-scale murals … to New Rochelle, Tony Aiello, 28 April 2022. Describes the King Kong wall at New Roc City; does not name the artist.
- News 12 Westchester: New Rochelle adds 12 murals to beautify downtown, Nadia Galindo, 28 April 2022. Programme context only; does not name this wall.
Commissioner: New Rochelle Council on the Arts
- New Rochelle Council on the Arts: Exploring New Rochelle’s New Murals (published by ArtsWestchester), 25 May 2022. Location, technique and the perspective quote.
- Patch: New #NRNYMurals Debut in New Rochelle With Art Walk and Mural Fest, Theresa Kump Leghorn (community contributor), 3 May 2022. Route and photo caption. CBS New York names Theresa Kump for the arts council, so this is treated as the commissioner’s voice, not a separate source.
- NRCA: NRNY Murals map (PDF), uploaded July 2022. Entry “King Kong by Carlos Alberto, New Roc City Plaza. 2022”; says phase two added “12 additional murals”.
Curator: Street Art for Mankind
- Street Art for Mankind: “King Kong” print, undated. Curator’s print page: “created by artist Carlos Alberto in New Rochelle, NY”, part of #NRNYmurals, mural location 33 Lecount Pl.
- Public Art Archive: King Kong, record submitted by Street Art for Mankind (the record owner) for the New Rochelle Council on the Arts and City of New Rochelle collections, updated 21 September 2022. Title, artist, 33 LeCount Pl, 2022, paint. Counted with Street Art for Mankind, not as a separate source.
- Street Art for Mankind: NRNY Murals, page modified December 2025. Lists Carlos Alberto among the artists and refers to twelve 2022 murals.
Artwork File · Last checked 14 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files