Site-specific surrealism steeped in hopeful allegory.
Mehdi Ghadyanloo is best known for his site-specific, dreamlike murals full of socio-political symbolism. The minimalist compositions depict atmospheric scenes of people and architecture, with a soft colour palette of sandy tones that resemble the urban and rural landscape of Iran. Alongside his public art, Ghadyanloo works in his studio across printmaking, sculpture and painting on canvas. His detailed style evokes both western modernism and traditional Iranian motifs. In particular, Ghadyanloo uses trompe-l’oeil techniques to create powerful illusionary effects which play with light, space,...
Bio
Mehdi Ghadyanloo was born in 1981 in Karaj, Iran, and now lives and works in London, UK.
Career
In 2016, Ghadyanloo became the first artist commissioned by both Iran and the USA since the Iranian revolution in 1979. In total, he has now painted over 100 public murals for the Utopian Tehran Project.
At auction
His painting Finding Hope (Diptych) was purchased in an auction at Sotheby's, London for $42,927 in 2019.