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There’s a new wall at Dark City Brewing Company – the second in a series of art installations at the Main Street brewery. 12×17

Owner Kevin Sharpe said the 12’ x 17’ art wall will spotlight a new artist every six months.

Taking the nickname of the Jersey Shore city, Dark City is Asbury Park’s first craft brewery. It opened in January with a pulp depiction of the city by Staten Island based surrealist Terry Lee Chandler.

This time around Freehold based artist Sean Pryor [at right] was chosen. A School of Visual Artist graduate, Pryor teaches Cartooning and Comic Techniques at Colorest Art Supplies in Red Bank.

Sharpe said the only direction he gives to an artist is to incorporate some element of Asbury Park or the brewing company into the installation.

“We let the artist have creative license over the wall,” he said.

Pryor, 32, opted for a vibrant burst of colors to serve his futuristic snapshot.

“The art usually serves as some kind of story because that’s how I’ve been conditioned,” Pryor said. “This is a version of Asbury Park, in my opinion, that reflects a lot of what is going on inside the town and the decay from natural causes.”

Using McLoone’s and The Saint as geographical marking points, Pryor centers futuristic blow fish donning space suits anda diminished shoreline [possibly] to imprint the realities of environmental pollution.

“The story is open ended,” he said. “It could possibly be an alternate dimension.”

But, no matter what is in the eye of the beholder, there is Pryor’s near 25-hour marathon to design, layout and install the piece over a three day period.

Working primarily with spray paint, acrylics were used for the dimensional detailing.

The installation comes on the heels of the launch of the brewery’s first canned beer – the Bond Street Brownie, named for the first bar to carry Dark City beers.

Today you can find Dark City ales throughout city venues, like waterfront eateries Langosta Lounge and Stella Marina.

This weekend also kicks off participation in festivals and events across the state, Sharpe said. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Dark City will take over the tap at Dowling’s Irish Pub and Restaurant, and you can catch them next weekend at Wildwood Beer Fest.

Dark City Brewing Co. is located at 801 Second Ave. The 3,500-square-foot facility features 15-barrel fermenters that support the distribution of their IPAs, Pale Ales and Porters.

Tours and tastings are given Thursday and Friday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. For more information, visit Dark City’s website and Facebook page.

[Gallery photos courtesy of Dark City]

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