By Cary Shuman
A public unveiling of Inner Bloom, a new public art installation by Matt Moyer Bell—a hand-painted mural with floating bronze camellia sculptures that bridges The Sara, a newly completed urban infill development, with its 19th-century brick neighbor, was held Monday at The Sara, which is located at 219 Saratoga St., East Boston.
The work ties East Boston’s past to its present and celebrates the neighborhood’s cultural diversity.
David Lank, Principal, Arch House Companies (Art Sponsor and Developer of The Sara), hosted the impressive ceremony outside The Sara.
State Rep. Adrian Madaro and Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, both lifelong Eagle residents, Jason Ardnt, Principal, Zephyr Architects (Designer of the Sara), and mural creator Matt Moyer Bell, Executive Director of HarborArts, delivered remarks at the ceremony.
Lank welcomed the assemblage of friends, family, and distinguished guests to the ceremony, well articulating the significance of the occasion and the amazing artistic talent of Matt Moyer Bell.
“Welcome to The Sara and Inner Bloom, by Matt Moyer Bell. We’re here this morning for the unveiling of this incredible art piece – a Harbor Arts public art installation,” said Lank. “This is an incredibly momentous event for us, and it’s the culmination of many years of planning and designing and conversations. What we’re actually celebrating, and this art summarizes it perfectly, is the interweaving of stories. We often forget or overlook that the levels and floors of buildings, kind a quirk of the English language, we refer to as stories. And right now, what we’re telling with this art, this 19th-century building to the left, and brand new 2020 development to the right, is the interweaving of stories across time, across cultures, and across disciplines.”
Lank lauded Matt Moyer Bell as “a person who is about bringing heart and soul to East Boston and everywhere else he touches. He’s an artist and designer and a community organizer.”
Rep. Madaro said it was “such an awesome day for Eagle Hill.”
“To the Lanks, David, Laura, and your family, congratulations on what really is a statement project in Eagle Hill,” continued Madaro. “To my good friend, Matt [Moyer Bell], awesome job and congratulations. This is special for a few reasons for me. I’m born and raised here on Eagle Hill, as is our city councilor, Gigi Coletta Zapata. One thing that makes Eagle Hill so special is our housing stock. We are the most densely populated part of the neighborhood, and we certainly have our share of challenges, but beneath all of the vinyl siding you see around us, are these gorgeous homes that were made by ship captains, shipbuilders, watchmakers, and all sorts of cool artisans – and that really is part of the history and story of Eagle Hill and of East Boston.
“One thing that is particularly special about this project and about David Lank and Arch House Companies is, David isn’t just a developer doing business here in this community. David and his family reside in this community. They’re raising their family here. You do such tasteful work, David, and one of the reasons why I love working with you is you actually listened, and you actually care about community feedback.”
Coletta Zapata said she often walks past the beautiful new building and the creative artwork on her return from visits to Day Square businesses.
“In full transparency, this is my little walk to and from Reno’s, when I get my lobster ravioli,” said Coletta Zapata. “I come to really admire this building in the short time that is has been up, and admire this piece of public art. We know how important public art is to communities. It transforms shared spaces through connectivity and identity. And I just learned about the significance of this mural. It’s beautifully aesthetic and pleasing and it’s amazing, but hearing about the meaning from Matt and from David where this flower – the Camellia is not native to Boston, but through intentionality and cultivation, it blooms and it blossoms. And I think it does speak to immigrant communities here in East Boston. I think there is a little bit of theme where folks that were not from here, came here and created a life filled with intentionality in search of economic prosperity, and from there it blossomed. And now we have this beautiful rich tapestry of various cultures and various ethnicities in East Boston. I do think that was intentional by this incredible artist (Matt Moyer Bell) and this incredible developer (David Lank), both of whom I consider friends.”
Moyer Bell humbly accepted all the accolades for his splendid and unique artwork that will come to be admired by neighbors and residents alike on Saratoga Street and beyond.
“It’s so nice to have such a great turnout for the first unveiling of my own here in Eastie,” said Moyer Bell. “Thank you both Gigi and Adrian, and to David – I just can’t say enough about how great it is to work is to work with a developer that actually cares about the art that we put together, that we collaborate on. It’s really authentic the amount of care that David puts into the collaboration. He trusts in the artist so much, not with just me. I’ve seen this in other collaborations David has had with other people in the artist community. He really gives the artist freedom, and that’s when you produce the best work. This piece wouldn’t have been come together in the amazing way that it did without you.”