Laced and Found, Austin, TX
Artist statement: As an Army Veteran who was medically retired due to PTSD and a number of other diagnoses from combat, mental health is extremely important. I've seen first hand what "checking in on your friends" can actually do. These four simple words have impacted so many and with this being our third year painting these words, we have received hundreds of messages thanking us.
Jay “Laced” Rivera and Riki Rivera are graffiti muralists known as Laced and Found. Jay Rivera was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York. During the 90’s in the Bronx, graffiti was in heavy rotation and an essential part of hip-hop culture in New York City. Along with tagging, Laced worked on his skills and began painting murals by the age of 16. Riki Rivera was born and raised in Southern California. As the other half of Laced and Found, Riki has been creating large scales murals since January of 2018. In 2018 they launched Laced and Found, which provides murals, custom artwork, clothing and so much more. Since its launch in January of 2018, Laced and Found has painted over 400 projects including murals and custom work. All of the work done by them is done primarily with spray paint, keeping true to the style and culture of graffiti artists.