Mural (Julie Mehretu)
| Company type | Artwork |
|---|---|
| Industry | Contemporary art |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Julie Mehretu |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | Public viewing from 200 West Street lobby, Lower Manhattan |
Key people | Julie Mehretu (artist) |
| Products | Large-scale mural painting |
Mural is a large-scale mural artwork completed in 2009 by Ethiopian-American contemporary artist Julie Mehretu, utilizing ink and acrylic on canvas. Commissioned in 2007 by the investment firm Goldman Sachs for installation in the lobby of its new headquarters at 200 West Street, Lower Manhattan, the piece presents a vibrant composition of overlapping abstract shapes rendered in 215 distinct colors. Its imagery draws inspiration from trade routes, cartographic maps, and photographic sources connected to the evolution of global economies and financial systems.
The concept behind Mehretu's design was shaped by the research of French historian Fernand Braudel, particularly his analysis of Western capitalism. The artwork’s densely layered and contrasting elements represent the intricate, self-perpetuating mechanisms of capitalism while visually mapping the complex web of international commerce and communication networks. Finished in 2009 with expenses primarily covering production and studio staff wages, Mehretu characterizes Mural as a "time capsule" encapsulating her artistic journey up to that point. It remains among her most recognized creations.
As an openly gay woman of color, Mehretu’s involvement in this commission has been highlighted as an example of corporate sponsorship supporting social and cultural inclusivity. Nonetheless, Goldman Sachs’ involvement has sparked debate given its controversial role in the 2008 financial crisis and questions about whether engaging a prominent minority artist was intended to bolster its public reputation. Discussions persist regarding the classification of Mural as public art; while it can be viewed from outside through the glass facade facing West Street, access to the private lobby where it resides is restricted.
Background
Julie Mehretu is an Ethiopian-American artist recognized for her abstract paintings and prints that incorporate elements such as maps, architectural schematics, and historical landmarks to explore urban, cultural, and civilizational narratives worldwide. According to art historian Elizabeth K. Mix, Mehretu "both references and departs from the tradition of abstract modernist painting," merging a wide array of cultural symbols including cartography, archival documents, corporate branding, art history, comic art, and graffiti.
Her creative process involves layering drawings throughout her compositions, challenging the conventional view that regarded drawing merely as a preparatory or subordinate medium to painting. Mix characterizes her method as embodying a modernist, formalist perspective on visual structure. Mehretu’s work is deeply informed by personal experiences such as her Ethiopian geographer father, Jewish-American mother, their family’s migration from Ethiopia to Michigan amid political unrest, and her engagement with diverse global cultures.
In her 2003 piece Empirical Construction, Istanbul, Mehretu incorporates iconography that references Istanbul’s historical trajectory from Byzantine times to the present day, including depictions of the Hagia Sophia, creating a complex "painting-drawing hybrid." Critic Fred Kaplan noted in 2021 that Mehretu has developed a "new language for political art," employing an innovative abstract lexicon that moves beyond traditional Western political art styles such as satire and social realism.
Commission
In 2007, the investment bank Goldman Sachs commissioned artwork for the lobby of its new headquarters located at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan. They intended to hire two artists: one to create a piece for the front lobby facing West Street and another for the rear lobby. Julie Mehretu proposed a monumental painting titled Mural, drawing inspiration from the history of capitalism and integrating a variety of abstract elements.
Mehretu characterized the piece as depicting "the layered intersections and contradictions of the global economy in a mural," referencing historian Fernand Braudel's work Civilization and Capitalism to support her concept. The project’s design was developed in collaboration with architectural historian Lawrence Chua and architect Beth Stryker. Chosen for the front lobby commission, the artwork was finalized in 2009, with expenses totaling , primarily covering production costs and wages for as many as 30 studio assistants.
Design
Measuring 23 by 80 feet, the painting employs 215 distinct colors and multiple layers of ink combined with sprayed acrylic on canvas. Richard Shiff explains Mehretu's composition as consisting of four interactive layers, each derived from extensive archival research and abstracted into the final image. The initial layer symbolizes "time and mapping: exchanges between nations and flows within networks." The second layer contains thousands of sketches depicting "banks, bourses, exchanges, markets, fairs, factories, warehouses, fortifications, and towers." The third introduces "free drawing and gesture," infusing spontaneity into the piece. The fourth layer incorporates "abstracted color signage," referencing early market decorations alongside contemporary logos related to finance.
Mehretu transferred and abstracted visual materials from historical documents directly onto the canvas. For instance, she projected a 1920s postcard showing the New York Stock Exchange Building to create a schematic outline. Elizabeth Harney highlights the inclusion of institutions associated with Western imperialism and colonialism, such as the New Orleans Cotton Exchange and an early "New England bank" engaged in trade systems exploiting natural resources and enslaved labor. The composition also features ancient landmarks like the Market Gate of Miletus, a Roman monument from the 2nd century AD currently displayed in Berlin's Pergamon Museum.
Considering the architectural context at 200 West Street, Mehretu consulted with Henry N. Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, who was involved in designing the building. Cobb endorsed incorporating art into architectural spaces and designed the structure to harmonize with such artistic elements. Shiff observes that Mehretu intended Mural to transcend mere architectural ornamentation. She described it as a "time capsule" encapsulating her artistic journey up to that point—an "Arc of work." Additionally, Mehretu emphasized the "physically demanding" nature of producing such a large-scale painting in segments, an experience she found "highly performative and physically intense."
Reception and scholarship
Although situated within the lobby of a private office building, Mural remains visible from the street through its glass walls, prompting critics to regard it as a form of public art. Novelist and critic Jonathon Keats characterized the piece as illustrating capitalism as "a self-sustaining system that resists reform through its unfathomable internal logic." Sarah A. Lewis interprets the expansive nature of Mural as a metaphor for "the operation of the capitalist economic system from its inception." Art historians observe that its layered depictions of maps, trade routes, and architectural renderings do not correspond to identifiable places but instead immerse viewers in a "center of global capital," effectively disrupting conventional linear perspective. Tomkins emphasizes the artwork’s "hundreds of meticulously defined abstract forms in vivid colors," which generate a "continuous and immersive" sensation of motion. Shiff reads one section as a tribute to Richard Serra's Tilted Arc, a contentious post-minimalist public sculpture.
American art historian Elizabeth Harney considers Mehretu's Mural to be a distinctive contemporary history painting, both honoring and implicating its commissioner within capitalist narratives. Daniel Haxall references this commission alongside Kehinde Wiley's 2009 partnership with sportswear company Puma as instances of shifting corporate patronage that advocate for diversity and social responsibility through artistic initiatives. Conversely, philosopher and critic David Carrier condemned Goldman Sachs for what he perceived as cause marketing, arguing that the firm exploited a minority artist (a "high-profile biracial lesbian") to enhance its public image. He also challenged Mural’s classification as public art, pointing out the restricted public access to the lobby space. Harney further notes that the artwork generated debate due to its patron’s involvement in the 2008 financial crisis. In a notably harsh critique, The American Conservative contributor James McElroy described the mural as "strikingly unattractive" and representative of the "candy-coated nihilism" permeating contemporary culture.