José Ortega created a series of mosaic panels inspired by the busy circle of streets above the 149th Street station, referred to locally as "the Hub." Ortega uses circular forms to invoke universal themes and creates recognizable imagery within an organic and abstract web of patterns. "The circle is a powerful symbol," he says. "It connotes infinity, implies wholeness. It has no beginning and no end." His brightly colored murals focus on three circular images: "the sun as the provider of energy and the center of our universe, the earth as the sustainer of our humanly developed and natural worlds, and the face as the translator, both receptor and interpreter of the human and natural worlds."

José Orega is originally from Ecuador. He established himself as an illustrator in New York City, and now splits his time between NYC, Toronto and Barcelona. He has worked on art commissions for such clients such as Absolut, MTV, Apple Computers, Bloomingdale's, Sony Music, Amnesty International and the New York Times. He has been the subject of numerous articles in international art and design journals and has received awards from organizations such as the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, Print, Communication Arts and Graphis.