This is by Raymond Saunders, an American artist born1934 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He lives and works in Oakland, California and is currently a professor of Painting at California College of the Arts, in Oakland.
I found this description from a press release put out by the St. Regis:
“The southeast façade of the historic Williams Building has been enhanced with an art glass transcription of a work on canvas by Oakland artist Raymond Saunders. An internationally acclaimed artist, Saunders is known for mixed-media paintings that are layered with fragmentary impressions and imbued with whimsy or satire.
The re-creation in glass of Saunders’ painting graces the Williams Building façade with a vibrant and striking work of art. Measuring 36’x36’, the artwork is visible along the Third Street corridor. The painting’s bold colors, abstract forms and strong composition celebrate its prestigious location in the Yerba Buena Arts District and its proximity to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
The method of transcribing the painting into glass involved numerous techniques, including fusing, etching, painting and casting. A variety of colored and optical glasses, including dichroic glass, were laminated onto the panels and project a vibrant kaleidoscope of colors during the day. At night the artwork appears as a jewel in the night sky, a welcoming beacon in the San Francisco’s world-renowned skyline.”
For those that are curious dichroic glass is glass containing multiple micro-layers of metals or oxides. The main characteristic of dichroic glass is that it has a particular transmitted color and a completely different reflected color, as certain wavelengths of light either pass through or are reflected. This causes an array of color to be displayed. The colors shift depending on the angle of view.
This is a gorgeous piece that does look like a painted pane of glass. You can’t miss it as third street is a major artery into downtown.