Gustavo Pandolfo stood next to his brother Otavio on Stuart Street today, leaning against the exterior of the Revere Hotel Boston Common.
Thanks to the identical twins, that wall now has a little more flavor.
At 11 a.m., the Brazilian brothers and artists, known as “Os Gemeos,” or “twins” in Portuguese, unveiled their urban mural, which depicts a hooded spray painter writing the word “Gemeos” as he stands atop the shoulders of a second hooded accomplice.
It was one of two new murals that the brothers created as part of their exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art.
The second mural, a much larger but equally colorful work, is located at the the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway.
The Revere Hotel Boston Common agreed to let the artists create their work on its building in an effort to embrace the city’s vibrant art and culture community.
“The mural exemplifies the hotel’s commitment to the arts and its trailblazing efforts to cultivate unique and original experiences for its guests,” hotel officials said in a statement.
“This summer, we are delighted to share the bright color, high energy, and distinctive Brazilian style of Os Gemeos’s art with the entire city of Boston. Combined with the ICA exhibition, the new murals will create an exciting urban art experience connecting the Boston Waterfront to the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway and the Revere Hotel near Boston Common,” said Jill Medvedow, Ellen Matilda Poss Director of the ICA. “We are thrilled to collaborate with the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy and the Revere Hotel to create a dynamic, city-wide platform for Os Gemeos’s work.”
The brothers first came to public attention with large-scale works created on the streets of their native São Paulo, a city whose social dynamics and vast urban landscape have greatly influenced the artists’ aesthetic. In addition to their work presented in museums and galleries around the world, the artists have created many high-profile public art projects in Brazil, including the painting of trains and subways in São Paulo and Porto Alegre.
The twins share a deep bond and artistic vision; they divide their painting mode in two, painting together, and starting and finishing the each other’s work.
The Os Gemeos mural on the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway is the most recent collaborative installation of public art on the Greenway.
The Greenway Conservancy hosted public meetings this year about the future of public art in the parks, and the Conservancy’s public art master plan is being finalized and will be presented in October.
The 70’ x 70’ temporary mural will be installed on the Dewey Square Air Intake Structure located between Summer and Congress Streets.
The mural on Dewey Square will remain up at least through the end of the exhibition at the ICA, which runs until Nov. 25.
