Artist Mehdi Ghadyanloo is just days away from completing Spaces of Hope, the latest giant mural on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The work will be the fifth in an annual series of contemporary murals on the massive 70′ x 76′ tunnel vent building wall facing Dewey Square.
“I want people to think of ‘hope’ when they view the mural,” said the 35-year old artist when we spoke with him this week during a break from painting. This is the first American mural by Mehdi Ghadyanloo who hails from Tehran, Iran and has had displays of his surrealist scenes in London and other international cities. He viewed the Boston opportunity as perfect for “building connections of the dreams we all share.”
While still contemporary, the latest edition is significantly more complex and graphical than the one it replaces, A Translation From One Language to Another, a simple textual mural by Lawrence Weiner. Ghadyanloo said he was inspired to come to Boston after seeing the Os Gemeos mural from four years ago. However, his work generally avoids political statements and instead aims to evoke feelings of happiness and imagination.
This is the first mural commissioned solely by the Greenway Conservancy rather than partnering with a museum or arts center. Lucas Cowen is the Public Art Curator for the Conservancy, which is headed up by Executive Director Jesse Brackenbury.
View past murals on the Greenway:
Shinique Smith’s “Seven Moon Junction” Mural
