San Francisco General Hospital
1001 Potrero Avenue
Potrero Hill
Roof Garden of the Acute Care Building
7th Floor
Breath Between Sky and Ocean by Masayuki Nagase was created in 2015 and consists of two hand-carved granite boulders (4 ft. by 4 ft. by 4 ft.), five polished and carved granite benches (5 ft. by 6 ft. by 18 in. each) and eight polished and carved pavers.
The artist’s design depicts a series of ripples carved into the boulders to express themes of water and wind, and the design on the stone pavers has polished surfaces and carved cloud-like forms.
Masayuki Nagase was born in Kyoto, Japan. He began his career as an artist by studying painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tokyo from 1968-1971. From 1971-1976 he trained in a traditional stone-carving apprenticeship in the granite quarries of Inada in Ibaragi-ken, Japan.
In 1995, Nagase became a resident of the US and established a studio with his wife, Michele Ku in Berkeley, California.
These pieces were purchased by the San Francisco Arts Commission for $200,000.