Spanish neo-expressionist artist Domingo Zapata has been commissioned by Saudi Arabia to create the largest mural in the world. Announced in February 2026, Zapata is tapped to head a team of about 100 artists, engineers and architects to make a 540,000-square-feet, or about nine football fields, painting in Riyadh.
According to Page Six, the New York-based artist received a blank check for this huge project which hopefully would be visible from space. Zapata said, it would be “the Middle Eastern version of the Sistine Chapel.” He added that, “It’s more than just a painting. It’s a declaration of humanity, of love, understanding, union and progress.”
In an email to artnet, Zapata wrote, “As an artist, having the freedom to create without boundaries is incredibly rare. That’s why I reference the Sistine Chapel–not to compare myself to Michelangelo, but to evoke that moment in history when an artist was entrusted with complete creative freedom to interpret humanity as it was understood at the time.”
Zapata is internationally recognized for his works in Times Square and Miami, and his celebrity clientele.
In 2019, he worked on a 15-story, 300-foot-tall vinyl mural on the façade of One Times Square building and in 2010, the 35 x 15 foot mural at Wynwood Walls in Miami.
The Spanish artist has portrayed celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, George Soros, Kim Kardashian and Sofia Vergara, and has even painted with the late Pope Francis at the Vatican.
