This project was made possible by the Friends of Lincoln Park, San Francisco Parks Trust and the San Francisco Department of Parks and Recreation.
Aileen Barr has a large body of tile work around San Francisco. She studied Ceramic Design at the National College of Art and Design In Dublin, Ireland, graduating in 1985. She worked in New York for a number of years and it was here that she discovered her fascination with handmade tile. Working in tile and architectural ceramics allows for the creation of larger works of art and can open up endless possibilities.
The imagery for the Lincoln Park bench was derived from historic photographs from the 1890s, including the Sutro Baths and the Midwinter International Exposition in 1894, filtered through Barr’s creative vision. The tiles themselves were produced in Barr’s ceramic studio in San Francisco, supplemented by the rectangular tiles supplied by Heath Ceramics in Sausalito.
Installation of the tiles was a challenge, handled by Riley Doty and Phylece Snyder, with assistance from Justin Unverricht.
This is absolutely lovely. I love the ceramic tiles. Reminds me of Portugal where tiles have been used extensively down through the years.
I do like tiles and ceramic work. This is a very nice installation and I can see how it would be challenging to get it ‘right’.
This is a beauty! I love tilework.
So lovely. The colours with the palm trees is what I associate as meaning “Southwest” I don;t know if you consider San Francisco “southwest” or not – but you are to me. :))