Potrero Hill – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Nature of Medicine

Posted by Cindy on September 9, 2017

Sep 092017

San Francisco General Hospital
1001 Potrero Avenue
Potrero Hill
Main Lobby of the New Wing

Image by Arla Escontrias for SFGHF

When you enter the lobby of the new wing you are overwhelmed by color. The two glass mosaics and the terrazzo floor are all done by Oakland artist, Rupert Garcia, done in 2015 they are titled Nature of Medicine.

The floor art piece measures 88 feet by 52 feet. The mosaic mural above the reception desk is 190 inches by 359-1/2 inches and the mural above the stairs measures 252-7/8 inches by 305 inches

Tile mosaic in the stairwell leading to the second floor

Rupert García, born in French Camp, California, is a Chicano artist who works in poster paint, oils and pastels. He studied painting and received numerous student honors from Stockton Junior College and San Francisco State University (SFSU), where he was influenced by Photo Realism.

Rupert Garcia has a piece at the San Francisco International airport that you can read about here.

This installation was part of a $7million budget and is the responsibility of the San Francisco Art Commission.

Archipelago

Posted by Cindy on August 11, 2017

Aug 112017

San Francisco General Hospital 1001 Potrero Avenue Potrero Hill Titled Archipelago this piece is based on the concept of a river as a metaphor for life. It was created by Anna Valentina Murch and sits in the plaza connecting the old and new buildings of the hospital complex. An important feature of the installation is a 6’-tall oval-shaped stainless steel banded sculpture, which is internally illuminated at night to serve as a symbolic beacon. Additionally, a series of basket-like, stainless steel banded sculptural seating elements surround planters and companion carved granite benches. Murch was born in Scotland and grew up in Continue Reading

Breath Between Sky and Ocean

Posted by Cindy on August 9, 2017

Aug 092017

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 Continue Reading

River of Time

Posted by Cindy on August 8, 2017

Aug 082017

San Francisco General Hospital 1001 Potrero Avenue Potrero Hill Acute Care Building 7th Floor This piece, titled River of Time, is in three pieces. The above piece is at the end of a short hallway on the 7th floor. The other two, however, are behind locked doors. I was able to snap a photo of the others when the doors were opened by a staff member. River of Time consists of a curved glass wall 98-2/8 inches by 97-3/8 inches and the two glass light-well walls in a corridor that measure 93-5/8 inches by 246 inches. All are stained glass Continue Reading

Ethereal Bodies

Posted by Cindy on July 15, 2017

Jul 152017

San Francisco General Hospital 1001 Potrero Avenue Potrero Hill Parking entry on 22nd Street Titled Ethereal Bodies, this piece, done in 2015, is by Cliff Garten. It consists of nine undulating stainless steel sculptures lit by multicolored LED lights. The installation’s stainless steel rods range in height from 14 to 22 feet tall. The surface of each is finely worked to achieve the most interesting interaction with sunlight and the LED lights at night. Garten received a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master of Landscape Architecture with Distinction from the Continue Reading

Healing Hearts

Posted by Cindy on July 15, 2017

Jul 152017

San Francisco General Hospital 1001 Potrero Avenue Potrero Hill The pieces were all created by sculptor Tom Otterness who was born 1952 in Wichita, Kansas. He is a prolific public art sculptor who has been creating whimsical satirical pieces since the 1970s. * Otterness employs the “lost wax” process to cast his bronze figures, which range from monumental to palm-sized. About his sculptures, the artist says, “I try to make work that speaks a common language that people understand, a visual language that doesn’t intimidate them.” * The sculptures are part of the San Francisco Art Commission Collection and cost $700,000. Otterness Continue Reading

Shadow Kingdom

Posted by Cindy on January 27, 2017

Jan 272017

16th at Missouri Potrero Hill The plaque at the site reads: This artwork is inspired by the history of Mission Bay, a 5,000 year-old tidal marsh that was once the habitat of a rich array of flora and fauna. Growth of the city in the 19th century brought shipyards, warehouses and railroads and this part of the bay was eventually filled with sand and dirt from nearby development, as well as debris from the 1906 earthquake. The five panels that form Shadow Kingdom evoke this layered history. Ship masts intersect with topographical and architectural references. Some of the plants and Continue Reading

Restoring Historic Murals

Posted by Cindy on January 10, 2014

Jan 102014

Franklin Square Park 2500 17th Street Potrero Hill Brotherhood of Man by Anthony Stellon This once abandoned mosaic was found by David Schweisguth in 2006. While walking his beagle Huxley in Franklin Square Park one afternoon, Huxley sniffed around a large concrete slab serving as a makeshift potting table, Schweisguth looked under the plastic sheet covering the table top and found this treasure. With the help of local mural expert Lillian Sizemore, who wrote A Guide to Mosaic Sites: San Francisco, they discovered that the artist was Anthony Stellon, who died in 2005. Schwiesguth’s discovery came at the right time. A neighborhood Continue Reading

Fish Tale

Posted by Cindy on April 19, 2013

Apr 192013

San Francisco General Hospital Potrero Hill Fish Tale by Hilda Shum was done in 1995. A stainless steel sculpture of an abstract fish tail rises from a mosaic “pool” of green and blue tiles. The fish is a symbol of transformation in many cultures and, as such, has special significance for this facility, which is the Skilled Mental Health Nursing Facility at San Francisco General Hospital. Shum is a Canadian artist born in 1957. The Sculpture is Stainless Steel and Mosaic. It is owned by the San Francisco Art Commission. **

Dance of the Cubes

Posted by Cindy on April 18, 2013

Apr 182013

San Francisco General Hospital Potrero Hill Dance of the Cubes is by Jacques Schnier. It is made of plastic and fiberglass and was done in 1975. Jacques Schnier taught at Berkeley for 30 years. First appointed as a Lecturer in the Department of Architecture, he retired as Professor of Art, Emeritus, in 1966. Jacques was a prolific sculptor whose work was widely exhibited and given critical recognition throughout his career. Major University recognition of Jacques’ achievements came in the form of appointment to the Institute of Creative Arts in 1963 and the awarding of the Berkeley Citation in 1970. Born Continue Reading

Tile Art at Jackson Playground

Posted by Cindy on April 5, 2013

Apr 052013

Jackson Playground 17th and Arkansas Potrero One of three park reservations made by the Van Ness Ordinances of 1855 in working class Potrero Nuevo, the site was originally known as Jackson Square. Undeveloped and virtually ignored for more than 75 years, Jackson Square was made into a playground in the twentieth century. A 1930 map shows a simply landscaped park with a small building, possibly a clubhouse, on the Mariposa Street side. The same map shows what was probably an oval cinder running track occupying much of the park. Very little on it appears in the city records. It was Continue Reading

SFGH Healing Garden

Posted by Cindy on March 28, 2013

Mar 282013

1001 Potrero San Francisco General Hospital The artist designed this small garden, in 1993, as an extension to an existing hospital memorial garden and as a place to provide seating sheltered from the wind. A red gravel walkway, edged in white granite city-surplus curbstones, forms a double helix, which is symbolic of life. The seating is made from salvaged granite. Look closely, you can see the double helix in the planter on the left. Benny Bufano’s Madonna graces the back of the garden. Peter Richards is a long-term Artist in Residence at the Exploratorium (an innovative science museum in San Francisco, Continue Reading

Dos Leones at SFGH

Posted by Cindy on March 16, 2013

Mar 162013

1001 Potrero San Francisco General Hospital So much of the collection paid for by the San Francisco Art Commission is not readily available to the general public. This piece is no exception. On the patio of the 3rd floor of SFGH, the doors were locked, however, you can see the sculpture through the window. Titled Dos Liones, this sculpture, done in 1974, is by Mary Fuller. Mary Fuller has many pieces of public art work around the San Francisco Bay Area. Mary Fuller was born in Wichita, Kansas on October 20, 1922. Creating totemic figures, playful animals and dancing goddesses Continue Reading

American Bison at SFGH

Posted by Cindy on March 13, 2013

Mar 132013

1001 Potrero San Francisco General Hospital 2nd Floor – Cafeteria Patio Buffalo by Raimondo Puccinelli Raimondo Puccinelli, (1904-1986) born and raised in San Francisco, is known above all for his sculpture which has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions. His standing as a sculptor was confirmed early on, firstly by the interest shown by the great museums on the West Coast of America and then by the commitment demonstrated by influential New York galleries in which his works were exhibited alongside the great artists of the time: as did both the Ferargil Gallery with its exhibition “Degas, Maillol, Continue Reading

Familia

Posted by Cindy on February 4, 2013

Feb 042013

Potrero del Sol Park Potrero Hill Potrero at 25th Street Familia is by Victor Reyes, who has many pieces around San Francisco. On June 9, 2011 the San Francisco Examiner ran this article about the mural: A community that came together to solve the problem of persistent graffiti at a neighborhood park celebrated the unveiling of a mural painted in the hope of staving off vandalism. Potrero del Sol Park, which is a favorite among skaters and schoolchildren, is bordered by Buena Vista Elementary School and a building maintained by San Francisco General Hospital. Taggers constantly targeted a wall of Continue Reading

Nico Berry on York Street

Posted by Cindy on January 22, 2013

Jan 222013

1354 York Street Mission/Potrero This mural is part of the San Francisco StreetSmARTS program and was done by Nico Berry. Nico Berry’s cultural perspective is shaped by his encounters with hip-hop, skateboarding, and urban youth culture while growing up on the South Side of Chicago. Over the years he has also become interested in exploring the role of culture, community, class, and religion, especially in the context of urban life. Aesthetically, Nico’s prolific experience in graphic design is extremely evident. Lettering, patterns, and the appropriation of pop and religious symbolism dominate his work. The media he works with include spray-paint, Continue Reading

Rattlecan Blasters go back in Time

Posted by Cindy on January 3, 2013

Jan 032013

1340 York Street Mission District This mural is part of the SF StreetSmARTS program. Painted by Rattlecan Blasters in 2011. Rattlecan Blasters consists of graffiti artists, Cameron Moberg (aka Camer1 from San Francisco) and Aaron Vickery (aka Fasm from Modesto). The duo teams up frequently to paint church youth rooms and exhibit in art shows. They have traveled to several states to use their rattlecan skills on commissioned murals. They have several other murals around San Francisco. In this are JW for Justin Werely, a friend of Camer1 whose name is on the right. The blue letters above say AMP which Continue Reading

Freeway Art – Its Time has Come

Posted by Cindy on November 30, 2012

Nov 302012

Highway 101 -280 Interchange Street Level Freeway stantion paintings are starting to pop up around the country, this is the first one in San Francisco. The artist is Cory Ferris and the work was done in 2011. According to a June 2012 article on SF Gate by Sam Whiting: Cory Ferris is a 19-year-old who was a senior at Mission High School when she got the commission. “I’m just really happy that I get to have my art on a column,” she says, unaware of its larger historic significance: This might mark the first time Caltrans has permitted an artistic interpretation on Continue Reading

Sirron Norris Paints Calumet

Posted by Cindy on October 22, 2012

Oct 222012

* As you can see, this piece by Sirron Norris is huge. This is what Sirron had to say about the piece before it began. (The scaffolding came down on August 31st). This mural will be funded by Calumet and will be a collaboration with Precita Eyes (www.precitaeyes.org)and the 3.9 art collective (www.threepointninecollective.com). My hope with this project, is to reach out to other artists and arts organizations in my community through collaboration. I also want to inspire my interns and give them one of the biggest challenges in their artistic life. On a personal note: this will be one Continue Reading

Ornamental Gates at Rolph Playground

Posted by Cindy on September 13, 2012

Sep 132012

Rolph Playground Potrero at 25th & Utah and 25th Mission/Potrero Hill Isis Rodriguez has created two rolled iron ornamental artworks, one for each side of Rolph Playground. Isis Rodriguez is a second generation Mid-Western Latina who grew up in Topeka, Kansas and received her first lessons in art from copying Hannah-Barbera cartoons by hand. She attended the University of Kansas where she received her BFA in Painting in 1988. Two years later, she moved to San Francisco to pursue her cartoon inspired artwork using various art forms: murals, paintings, silk screens, graffiti, flyers, and posters. Isis worked on murals for Continue Reading

Muni brings art to an industrial building

Posted by Cindy on August 25, 2012

Aug 252012

Muni brings art to an industrial building

700 Pennsylvania Potrero Hill * The Muni Ways and Structures Facility is located at 700 Pennsylvania Street at the base of Potrero Hill. The facility centralizes several Muni functions, including, among others, a machine shop, welding, carpentry, painting, and locksmith. Although the size and shape of the complex is unchanged from its former role as an overhead-door factory, it has been given a colorful new life through the work of San Francisco artist Robert Catalusci. The exterior walls are now painted ox-blood red and graphite with silver and copper-green accents. In addition to custom paint design, the artist designed massive Continue Reading

Stiff Loops by Gerald Walburg at SF General Hospital

Posted by Cindy on July 29, 2012

Jul 292012

Stiff Loops by Gerald Walburg at SF General Hospital

Potrero Hill San Francisco General Hospital 23rd and Vermont * * Stiff Loops by Gerald Walburg 6000 pounds, Corten Steel, 1974 In 2009 Stiff Loops was moved from its original site and underwent a $44,650 renovation. It was then placed at the corner of the hospital parking lot to make way for the construction of the new Trauma Center. The conservation treatments were meant to mitigate corrosion and enhance structural stability. Gerald Walburg (1936- ) is a retired art teacher from California State University Sacramento. From a March 3, 2004 CSUS newspaper: Like many artists, Walburg started drawing at a Continue Reading

Madonna by Benjamin Bufano at SF General

Posted by Cindy on July 28, 2012

Jul 282012

Madonna by Benjamin Bufano at SF General

Potrero Hill San Francisco General Hospital 1001 Potrero Avenue Madonna by Benjamin (Beniamino) Bufano 1974 Benjamin (Benny) Bufano was a prolific artist in his time and has many pieces around San Francisco. This Madonna of Red Granite and mosaic sits on the edge of the comfort garden in San Francisco General Hospital, near building 80. The first buildings designated as San Francisco General Hospital were erected in 1872. Outbreaks of bubonic plague, the spread of tuberculosis, the earthquake of 1906, and the influenza epidemic of 1918 were all trials this hospital saw in its early years. Most of the present Continue Reading

Potrero Hill – Cars and Birds

Posted by Cindy on December 27, 2011

Dec 272011

16th and Bryant Potrero Hill, San Francisco This mural at 16th and Bryant is by Rigo and was done in 1997. Rigo has been in this website many times. was born and raised on the Portuguese island of Madeira. He later established himself as an artist in San Francisco, earning a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 1991 and an MFA from Stanford University in 1997. From 1984-2002, Rigo used the last two digits of the current year as part of his name, finally settling upon “23″ in 2003

Potrero Hill – Snake Mural

Posted by Cindy on December 5, 2011

Dec 052011

Potrero Hill 17th and Alabama Sometimes murals catch you, not for their quality but for their whimsy. Take a look at the close up pictures. This mural is by Javier Manrique, a multidisciplinary artist who has shown all over the world. This mural is on the wall of Project Artaud where Manrique lives.

Potrero Hill – Umbrellas

Posted by Cindy on November 27, 2011

Nov 272011

Potrero Hill 17th and Florida Muybridge Live Benjy Young The photos of these umbrellas have been on my computer for quite a while. I did not want to post them until I knew who the artist was, and that task proved elusive. However, today was one of those days that make it all worth while. I went back to the umbrellas, as you will be able to tell by the varying sky and took a few more shots. I also took the time to start knocking on doors and asking who was the creator of this whimsical, wonderful installation. Well, Continue Reading

In Dollar We Trust on Potrero Hill

Posted by Cindy on October 23, 2011

Oct 232011

Potrero Hill / Mission District Alabama between 17th and Mariposa This long mural is titled “In Dollar We Trust” and is by two artists from Apotik Komik (Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia artist collective), Samuel Indratama and Arie Dyanto. I read a fascinating article by Jim Sullivan of Mira Costa College, about how art expresses the lost dreams of California. In it Mr. Sullivan explains that this piece “condemns the California Dream of a money dependent government and emphasizes the importance of severing individuals’ obedience to greedy authorities. At first glance, spontaneous groups of blood-shot eyes are featured throughout the mural Continue Reading

Pepe Ozan’s Invocation

Posted by Cindy on July 18, 2011

Jul 182011

Potrero Hill – San Francisco This sculpture is located at the corner of Bayshore Blvd, Cesar Chavez and 26th Street, just to the side of Highway 101. Though it was installed in 2004, to mark the beginning of a new bike path, they just started construction on said path this month. The sculptor, Pepe Ozan, stated that the piece represents an Eagle-Warrior, an institution that survived all of Mesoamerica’s civilizations throughout 2000 years until the arrival of the Conquistadors. The Eagle-Warriors were a corps of elite who served as leaders in religious ceremonies as well as on the battlefield. The Continue Reading