Art Location
Columbus Parking Garage Overpass
Boston, MA 02115
Daniel Anguilu
100 Years of Solitude
Installation 1: April 2014–April 2023
Installation 2: April 2023
Graffiti artist Daniel Anguilu ’s style is inspired by his Mexican heritage. He paints with abstract shapes, animal imagery, and vibrant color. His art, which appears mostly on freight trains and large-scale walls, has become increasingly more visible around his hometown of Houston. He has painted murals in the United States, Mexico, Peru, and Italy.
Anguilu’s mural at Northeastern in 2014 formally kicked off the university’s Public Art Initiative. He painted the work on the wall of the stairway and ramp leading to a pedestrian bridge that traverses the MBTA tracks and connects the Columbus Avenue parking garage to Northeastern’s main campus. Within his abstract mural are images of trains, faces, butterflies, and representations of daily life.
“I’m interested in the rhythm of the piece. I picked friendly colors that aren’t aggressive. I’m playing more with movement and shapes. I like the fact that you can feel yourself moving with it.”
—Daniel Anguilu
The imagery in the mural references One Hundred Years of Solitude, a novel by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez, who died just days before Anguilu arrived on campus. Anguilu read portions of the book during his stay at Northeastern and, inspired, named the mural in the author’s honor.
Anguilu returned in 2018 to expand the mural and add new elements. In 2023, he returned to install the second iteration of 100 Years of Solitude, with a new color palate and set of design elements.