Daniel Anguilu’s magical realist mural “100 Years of Solitude” kicked off Northeastern’s Public Art Initiative in 2014. A decade later, Anguilu has redone his work to ensure it lives on.
Title: “100 Years of Solitude” (originally painted in 2014, repainted in 2023)
Artist: Daniel Anguilu
Size: 2,750 square feet
Materials: Paint, spray paint
Location: Boston campus, Columbus Parking Garage overpass
About: Daniel Anguilu’s “100 Years of Solitude” has not been around nearly as long as its name would suggest, but the mural’s place on Northeastern’s Boston campus is no less iconic.
Anguilu, a Mexican-born street artist, originally painted the mural on the wall of the Columbus Parking Garage overpass in 2014. With its vibrant colors and abstract imagery, “100 Years of Solitude” helped launch Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun’s Public Art Initiative.
Northeastern later brought Anguilu back in 2018 to expand the mural to the pedestrian bridge before having him return yet again in 2023 to repaint an entirely new mural in the same location. The mural that exists today retains Anguilu’s signature style of organic, spontaneous design, inspired by what Anguilu feels in the moment.
“100 Years of Solitude” blends aspects of Mexican indigenous art with Anguilu’s roots as a Houston-based street artist. However, at the center of the mural is Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez’ landmark magical realist novel, “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” When Anguilu first arrived on campus in 2014, Márquez had just passed away.
Returning to Northeastern to repaint the mural, Anguilu remained inspired by the author’s work, which had only become more relevant for Anguilu.
“It’s incredible to me that there’s so much reference [in that book] to where we are at this time: It has always been us against us,” Anguilu told NGN in 2023. “That book has that message, but we still just look at it as a book. … It makes more sense to me for us to really start to look at what all this artwork that is created means because now it’s time for us to use it.”