Spaces of Hope - Mehdi Ghadyanloo
Spaces of Hope & the Artist Mehdi Ghadyanloo
Mehdi Ghadyanloo, an emerging star in the international art community, has become widely known for painting surrealist city-scale murals in his native Tehran, and his Greenway mural represented his American debut. Ghadyanloo worked as a farmer before studying Painting at the University of Tehran. The Greenway mural was his first US commission.
Inspired by David Harvey's utopian book by the same title, Spaces of Hope depicts individuals walking through and up a series of platforms and staircases that eventually spirals-like a helix-toward an opening in the dome created by the building's curved wall. There, at the very top, a large red balloon hovers in wait, suspended in midair as light streams in through the oculus above.
Like the other sun-filled apertures in the composition, this opening to the sky serves to bathe an otherwise somber scene in radiance. Per the artist's account, the mural commemorates the small wishes-which take the shape of fragile balloons on the verge of popping at any given moment-that individuals carry throughout their lives.
The rhythm of these wish-balloons carried by humans in procession echoes the hustle and bustle of the nearby metro stop while also offering a visual eulogy for the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Festive yet mournful, and open-ended in meaning, Ghadyanloo's mural celebrates both sorrow and joy as it raises questions about what looms ahead.
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. Foregoing political commentary in his public art, Ghadyanloo is more interested in capturing and communicating dreams and imaginations that people all over the world share.
Artist Bio
From Iran, Mehdi Ghadyanloo established a public art practice by completing more than a hundred expansive trompe l’oeil murals on buildings throughout Tehran from 2004 through 2011. In 2016, he became the first artist since 1979 to be officially commissioned in both Iran and the United States with the completion of his Spaces of Hope mural at the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston.
He is best known for his large-scale public murals that aim to bring beauty and optimism to urban environments. Ghadyanloo's work is characterized by a unique style that combines elements of traditional Persian art with contemporary aesthetics, resulting in vibrant and captivating artworks.
He is widely regarded as one of the leading public artists of his generation, and his work has inspired countless others to explore the possibilities of large-scale public art.
Timelapse painting of Spaces of Hope
