The Business District Alliance of Fort Lee and Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich unveiled the borough’s third mural on September 23, 2022, located at 1630 Lemoine Avenue in Fort Lee. The building where the mural was painted belongs to the Osso family.

Maria Osso asked if her late husband’s family home in Italy could be incorporated in the painting. Miami-based artist Ernesto Maranje, who uses animal and flora imagery to visualize and create narratives about the importance of preserving the environment, was happy to include the Osso home in the Fort Lee mural.

Ernesto Maranje is a Cuban American artist born in Chicago, Illinois in 1983 and raised in Miami, Florida. He discovered his interest in art at 27 while serving in the Coast Guard.

Ernesto’s work explores flora and fauna, biological evolution, and plant and animal relationships. He renders these ideas with acrylic and spray paint on large-scale murals and canvas.He has painted murals at home and abroad, including countries like Ukraine, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Greece and Spain. Ernesto has also worked on many public art projects with cities, arts and cultural divisions, non-profits and NGOs. His canvas work has been shown in solo and group shows in the U.S. and overseas.

Video Credit: Fort Lee Today/Linda McCue