Surreal Mural By Iranian Artist Mehdi Ghadyanloo unveils in Dewey Square Park in Boston, curated by The Greenway Conservancy Public Art Program.
About The Mural
Titled “Spaces Of Hope“, the mural takes us into an uncanny dreamscape and captures a fundamental quality of Ghadyanloo’s work: his perspective on the nuanced nature of hope, fear, and uncertainty about the future. Gazing upwards as one, the figures in the mural move forward with purpose; it is impossible to know how many have come before them and how many wait behind. Will they reach their destination? Will they escape the labyrinthine of darkness they are trapped in and move into the light?
What is waiting for them beyond? Though offering them the chance to escape, the red balloons could burst at any moment.
Drawing inspiration from his upbringing in Tehran and the local context of Boston, Ghadyanloo is interested in opening a window to the universal experience and feelings that people all over the world share. His public murals are part of the fabric of the city, creating a dialogue with the people who surround them as their daily experiences become part of his expansive composition. Bright colors and stark use of light and shadow communicate across continents, weaving a narrative between our dreams that binds us together and speaks with joy of what remains glorious in gloomy times.
About The Artist
Mehdi Ghadyanloo, 35, worked as a farmer before moving to Tehran to study Painting at the University of Tehran. After graduation in 2004, Ghadyanloo answered an open call from the Municipality of Tehran’s Beautification Bureau to promote public art in the city. Ghadyanloo submitted 10 proposals for murals, all hope-filled utopian designs that played with gravity and perspective. Ghadyanloo was selected by the Bureau to paint all 10; he ultimately painted more than 100 murals between 2005 and 2012. Today, Ghadyanloo is pursuing public art projects and exhibiting his works of art internationally. Foregoing political commentary in his public art, Ghadyanloo is more interested in communication, and the dreams and imagination that people all over the world share.
About The Greenway
The Rose Kennedy Greenway is a mile-and-a-half of contemporary parks in the heart of Boston. The Greenway is a rooftop garden atop a highway tunnel that connects people and the city with beauty and fun. The non-profit Greenway Conservancy maintains, programs, and improves The Greenway on behalf of the public and in partnership with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Greenway welcomed 1.19 million visitors in 2015 for The Greenway Carousel, events, Wi-Fi, and Mobile Eats food trucks, plus millions more visitors who enjoyed the fountains, plazas, and gardens. The Conservancy has won numerous awards, including for our organic landscape care and park programming.
The Greenway Conservancy Public Art Program, which recently showcased traveling and commissioned major works by Janet Echelman (As If It Were Already Here), Ai Weiwei (Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads), Lawrence Weiner (A TRANSLATION FROM ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER), and Matthew Hoffman (MAY THIS NEVER END), is committed to exhibiting thought- provoking temporary installations of contemporary public art. Kyu Seok Oh’s Wandering Sheep (2015) was the third Greenway artwork in four years to be recognized by Americans for the Arts’ Public Art Network as among the country’s best. Past exhibitions can be viewed on The Greenway’s website.
Source: The Rose Kennedy Greenway
Mehdi Ghadyanloo: web | facebook | twitter | instagram
The Rose Kennedy Greenway: web | facebook | twitter
