Forest Hill – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Tiled Walls

Posted by Cindy on September 12, 2018

Sep 122018

Laguna Honda Hospital
375 Laguna Honda Boulevard
Foresthill

Tile by Cheonae Kim

In the aqua therapy center there are two pools surrounded by walls covered in geometric patterns of ceramic tile designed by Cheonae Kim.

Cheonae Kim was born in Ichon, Korea in 1952. She graduated from Ewha Women’s University in Seoul and then went on to Southern Illinois University to receive her BA in Drawing in 1983 and her MFA in Drawing and Painting in 1986. She is a professor at the same college. Major exhibitions include Milwaukee Museum, UCLA Hammer Museum, the Rockford Museum, and the Chicago Cultural Center.

The overall budget for the artwork within the new Laguna Honda Hospital wing was $3million, thanks to the 1% for Art Program.

The budget for this tile work was $68,761.

Fabric Collage

Posted by Cindy on September 6, 2018

Sep 062018

Laguna Honda Hospital 375 Laguna Honda Boulevard Foreshill These collages by Merle Axelrad Serlin are comprised of thousands of small pieces of fabric, fiber, paint and cloth. The fragments are carefully arranged, layered, pinned and sewn together onto a cotton canvas. The artist uses a variety of fabrics including, but not limited to, cotton, linen, rayon, wool, silk, hemp, and tulle. When she is not able to find a piece of fabric that achieves the desired effect, Serlin uses acrylic-based fabric paints to create her own. Merle Axelrad Serlin was a successful and pregnant architect when she made her first Continue Reading

Landscape

Posted by Cindy on August 30, 2018

Aug 302018

Laguna Honda Hospital 375 Laguna Honda Blvd. Foresthill These two pieces, which sit in rooms that are across the hall from each other, are titled Landscape and are made of terracotta. Igarashi sculpted hundreds of clay pieces for these terracotta reliefs creating a textured landscape between the in-dining and living areas. Japanese artist Igarashi has taught at Chiba University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He collaborated in the foundation of the Faculty of Design at Tama Art University (Kaminoge Campus) to set up the first computerized design education in Japan and was the first Head of Design Continue Reading

Bloom by Jonathan Bonner

Posted by Cindy on August 27, 2018

Aug 272018

Laguna Honda Hospital 375 Laguna Honda Boulevard Foresthill Bloom consists of a circular group of five granite lathe-turned elliptical forms with smooth honed finishes. The artist knew that the sculptures would be viewed from above, evoking the concept of a star, a flower or possibly an asterisk. For those that enter the patio area, the pieces encourage sitting as well as providing a tactile experience. Jonathan Bonner received his BFA in 1971 from Philadelphia College of Art and an MFA in 1973 from Rhode Island School of Design. Jonathan Bonner started his career as an artist in the late 1960s, when he wandered Continue Reading

WPA Murals at Laguna Honda Hospital

Posted by Cindy on August 21, 2018

Aug 212018

Laguna Honda Hospital 375 Laguna Honda Boulevard Foresthill Professions by Glen Wessels is one of five murals in the entry to the older wing of Laguna Honda Hospital. These five 8′ x 6′ murals were painted in 1934 with funding from the PWAP (Public Works Art Projects). Glenn Anthony Wessels was born in Cape Town, South Africa on December 15, 1895, the son of a wealthy Dutch diamond merchant. The Wessels family moved to California about 1902, having lost everything in the Boer War. Wessels earned his B.F.A. at the California School of Arts and Crafts and his M.A. degree at Continue Reading

Skydancing

Posted by Cindy on June 28, 2018

Jun 282018

Laguna Honda Hospital Pavillion Atrium 375 Laguna Honda Boulevard Forest Hill This is Skydancing by Takenobu Igarashi they are painted aluminum sculptures, reminiscent of blossoms and suspended from aircraft cables. Japanese artist Igarashi has taught at Chiba University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He collaborated in the foundation of the Faculty of Design at Tama Art University (Kaminoge Campus) to set up the first computerized design education in Japan and was the first Head of the Design Department. In 1994, he ended his 25 years of design activity and moved to Los Angeles to become a sculptor. Continue Reading

Building the Iron Horse

Posted by Cindy on June 19, 2018

Jun 192018

Laguna Honda Hospital Lobby of the Pavillion 375 Laguna Honda Boulevard Forest Hill Owen Smith’s WPA-style mosaic murals depicting the building of the Golden Gate Bridge pay homage to Glen Wessel’s Professions mural series in the historic Laguna Honda lobby and provide a visual continuity between the old and the new buildings. The artist chose to illustrate the building of the Golden Gate Bridge because of the subject matter’s connection to the Wessel murals, which include themes related to labor and the four classic elements. To Smith, the building of the Golden Gate Bridge represents human audacity, bravery, skill and Continue Reading

Laguna Line

Posted by Cindy on June 14, 2018

Jun 142018

Laguna Honda Hospital 375 Laguna Honda Boulevard Forest Hill By observing Laguna Honda residents using wheelchairs and the handrails located throughout the building, Cliff Garten saw the potential for a public artwork in the form of a handrail. While meeting all codes and functional requirements, he transformed a ubiquitous handrail into a sensuous sculpture that addresses the space at a visual, tactile and psychological level. The Esplanade features approximately 600 feet of sculptural handrail elements that interpolate the interactive qualities of the handrail into other situations and activities in the hospital. The handrail is cast in bronze and embellished Continue Reading

Reflections

Posted by Cindy on June 12, 2018

Jun 122018

Laguna Honda Hospital 135 Laguna Honda Forest Hills This bi-fold, water-cut, stainless steel access door is by Diana Pumpelly Bates. The design incorporates selected elements of the new architecture of the hospital and imagery derived from the surrounding environment. The relationship of the lines and shapes in the imagery are intended to suggest a “landscape of reflection.” Diana Pumpelly Bates is a sculptor and public artist working in bronze, iron, and steel. Her work has been included in exhibitions at the Oakland Museum, Oakland, The Triton Museum in Santa Clara, the Oliver Art Center at California College of Arts and Continue Reading

Rabbinoid on Cell Phone

Posted by Cindy on June 11, 2018

Jun 112018

Laguna Honda Hospital Garden Area 375 Laguna Honda Forest Hills This life size bronze is called Rabbinoid on Cell Phone and is by California artist Gerald Heffernon Gerald Heffernon lives in Winters, California. He has shown at galleries and museums nationally as well as in France, including the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. He has been awarded over a dozen public art commissions since 1978, including those for fire stations in San Jose and Sacramento, parks in Sacramento and Denver (both in progress), and the Light Rail Station in Sacramento. Mainly depicting animals, most of his sculptures are made Continue Reading

Florence Nightingale

Posted by Cindy on June 4, 2013

Jun 042013

Laguna Honda Hospital Forest Hill / Twin Peaks This graceful painted cast stone statue of Florence Nightingale titled Lady of the Lamp is by David Edstrom and was done in 1937. The project was part of the WPA (Works Progress Administration) Federal Artists Program. The statue sat in the Court of the Seven Seas during the Golden Gate International Exhibition. The Lady of the Lamp refers to a Longfellow poem. (Peter) David Edstrom (1873-1938) was an immigrant from Vetlanda, Jönköping County, Sweden. In 1880, he immigrated to the United States with his parents, John Peter Edstrom and Charlotte Gustavson Edstrom. Edstrom lived in Ottumwa, Iowa from 1882 Continue Reading

Winner of Best Public Art 2011

Posted by Cindy on June 28, 2011

Jun 282011

This is a special piece to me. The artist is Owen Smith, he is an award-winning illustrator whose work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers. Smith’s WPA-style mosaic murals and bas relief sculptures at the new Laguna Honda pay homage to Glen Wessels’ W.P.A. mural series “Professions” located in the hospital’s 1926 building. Painted in oil on canvas, Wessels’ five murals portray the classical elements (fire, air, earth and water) through an associated profession. For the hospital’s lobby, Smith created three mosaic murals depicting the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, which to him represents human audacity, bravery, skill and Continue Reading

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