Meet Mehdi Ghadyanloo: The Artist Behind Splint Invest's Next Release
Splint Invest is preparing its first release of work by artist Mehdi Ghadyanloo. The release goes live next week. This post introduces the artist and his work to the Splint Invest community.
Who is Mehdi Ghadyanloo?
Mehdi Ghadyanloo was born in 1981 in Karaj, Iran, near Tehran. He grew up on his family's farm. He studied painting at the University of Tehran and graduated in 2004. He later earned a master's degree in animation from Tarbiat Modares University. Ghadyanloo now lives and works in Frankfurt, Germany.
Between 2004 and 2011, Iran's Ministry of Beautification commissioned Ghadyanloo to paint more than 100 murals across Tehran. The murals replaced propagandistic imagery with dreamlike, hopeful scenes. This work made him one of the Middle East's leading public artists.
A style built on illusion and memory
Ghadyanloo paints in a hyperrealistic, trompe l'oeil style. His paintings trick the eye into seeing depth on a flat canvas. Utopian cityscapes, empty playground slides, and quiet seascapes recur throughout his work.
His technique draws on his early training in Persian miniature painting. His imagery draws on European Surrealism, especially the work of Rene Magritte and Giorgio de Chirico. It also draws on the minimalist architecture of Le Corbusier.
Ghadyanloo's themes come from his own life. He grew up on a farm near Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). His paintings carry that history, but they lean toward hope rather than despair.
From Tehran murals to Gagosian and Almine Rech
Ghadyanloo's career moved from Iran's streets to the world's leading galleries and institutions. Key milestones include:
- 2015: His first UK exhibition, "Perception" at Howard Griffin Gallery in London, sold out before it opened.
- 2016: He painted public murals at King's Cross in London and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Boston.
- 2017: Ghadyanloo became the first Iranian artist commissioned in both Iran and the United States since the 1979 revolution. He completed a 5,230-square-foot mural in Boston. His solo show "Spaces of Hope" filled 14,000 square feet at Ambika P3 in London.
- 2019: The World Economic Forum commissioned his 186-square-meter mural "Finding Hope" for its annual meeting in Davos.
- 2022: Gagosian presented his work in Hong Kong and New York.
- 2023-2024: He held solo exhibitions "The Untold Stories" in London and "Monuments of Hope" in Paris. In 2024, one of his paintings became the cover art for Phish's album "Evolve."
Ghadyanloo is represented by Almine Rech, with galleries in Paris, London, Brussels, and Shanghai. He has also shown with Gagosian. His paintings hang in major public collections, including the Long Museum in Shanghai, the National Art Museum of China, and the Singapore Art Museum.
Why this matters for the Splint Invest community
Splint Invest gives members fractional access to assets usually reserved for institutional buyers and established collectors. Mehdi Ghadyanloo's museum presence and gallery representation make his work a strong addition to our art category.
The first Ghadyanloo release goes live on the Splint Invest platform next week. Members interested in contemporary art with a strong international exhibition record should watch for the announcement.
What makes Mehdi Ghadyanloo's work distinctive?
His paintings combine hyperrealistic technique with surreal, architectural composition. This combination is rare in contemporary painting. It sets his work apart from purely photorealistic or purely abstract painters.
Where has his work been shown?
His work has appeared at Gagosian in Hong Kong and New York, and at Almine Rech in Paris and London. He has also shown at Ambika P3 in London, and created public murals in Tehran, London, Boston, and Davos.
Is his work held in museum collections?
Yes. His paintings sit in the permanent collections of the Long Museum in Shanghai, the National Art Museum of China, and the Singapore Art Museum.
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Splint Invest's Art category comprises 295 fractional art investments released between December 2022 and July 2026, spanning museum-name Post-War and Pop Art figures like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, a Banksy-led street art presence, and a bench of contemporary painters and photographers — among them Raghav Babbar, Móyòsóré Martins and Ksenia Pasyura — who are actively building auction records and gallery representation.
Five precedents - Schnabel, Condo, Brown, Scharf, and Guston - map the paths a speculative art-market cycle can take, and why Willem and McCormick have not yet completed one.
