iranian artist presents paintings of carefree childhood at gagosian new york

stimulating memories of carefree childhood play

iranian artist, painter, and muralist mehdi ghadyanloo imagines fictional architecture, depicting structures that evoke memories of carefree childhood play. now on display at the gagosian gallery in new york, a new surreal painting series overflowing with playground equipment and floating balloons, suggests a vibrant world of colors and shapes. through his work, he portrays the paths of his youth, growing up during the iran-iraq war and experiencing displacement and misery. his memories of the war, his life experience in the islamic republic, and all these sensitivities shaped by wartime anxieties were important inspirations for his work.

ghadyanloo’s painting series subtly depicts these traumatic war experiences accompanied by daydreaming and utopian ambitions. though the paintings illustrate vivid and playful sculptures, in some cases, they are characterized by incompleteness and inaccessibility: stairs and entrances seem to be missing or unusable, while some slides are not correctly connected and fail to reach somewhere.

mehdi ghadyanloo
the unreachable beauties, 2022

acrylic on canvas

70 7/8 x 98 1/2 in

180 x 250 cm

courtesy gagosian

a failed utopia by mehdi ghadyanloo

an exhibition of new artworks is now on view at gagosian gallery’s 976 madison avenue until 23 april. the surreal series is dominated by slides, spiral tubes, ladders, a hopper filled with balls, and a tall toy horse, all positioned in shallow spaces, while some light peeks through ocular skylights. with a dreamy yet uncanny feeling, the paintings seem playful and inviting at first view, but simultaneously they harness the unconscious. the complex geometries draw from iran’s rich traditions of painting, architecture, literature, decorative arts, and the carpets the young boy observed his mother weaving.

his experience as a father whose career required extensive international travel with his children motivated him to incorporate playground equipment as the key element of his work that surpasses linguistic and cultural differences.

have a look at some of his most surreal designs below and discover more on the artist’s instagram account.

mehdi ghadyanloo
the innocentness, 2022