Wellesley gets even artsier with huge mural installation at Linden Square

Have you ever looked at the blank wall between Bank of America and California Pizza Kitchen and thought that it could really use a 600 foot-long mural inspired by a mix of early 20th-century Cubists and European stained-glass masters? Growing up in town, Wellesley artist Alexander Golob may not have thought that either, but he knew the wall needed something ever since he was a kid running around the mean streets of Wellesley. Now he’s gone and done it. “For me this is a really exciting project. I grew up down the street and always thought something should go in this spot.”

The grand unveiling of the Boston University College of Fine Arts graduate’s mural, “Coloring Book” took place on a hot summer morning under blue skies, drawing a small crowd of friends, well-wishers, Selectman Beth Sullivan Woods, and Federal Realty representatives. Bryan Furze, Federal Realty Vice President of Asset Management said, “We are really excited to bring a community artist into Linden Square. This is an opportunity to showcase Wellesley art at our front door.”

Taking it left to right, the images of the Town Hall, the Wellesley Free Library, and the familiar streetlights in town are kaleidoscope in feel. With a nod to the early 20th century, at the far right are simple wood-framed homes once common in Wellesley. Some of the blue is meant to represent Lake Waban, a common theme in Golob’s local work.

You can see more of Golob’s art by crossing the street to the Linden Square courtyard area where earlier this summer he installed an over 200 square-foot adhesive vinyl mural, “The Joy of Entering the Forest.” The pinks, woodland greens, and yellows take inspiration from plants found around Lake Waban and from 19th century United States folk art. Look for it on the exterior windows of Sweetgreen. It starts out at the front entrance of the salad spot and wraps around the corner.

Golob was born in 1994 in Cambridge, Massachusetts into a bilingual, Italian and Jewish-American household. He has studied art in both Boston and Venice, Italy. It is his mission to create engaging art that expands beyond the walls of a gallery to provoke thought in the public, lifts its viewers, and transforms physical space. He is a co-founder of the non-profit, Wellesley Parents Supporting Art Students, to which he has been a board member for six years. His studio, Golob Art, creates and consults for public art and placemaking for clients ranging from small nonprofits to large universities and from growing cities to major developers. The studio also has a 2,500 square foot art gallery, Post-Cubicle Gallery, in Boston’s Kenmore Square.