Illuminate SF

The Can't-Miss Light Art in San Francisco's Bayview, Mission Bay, Potrero Hill, and South Beach

Olafur Eliasson, 2019

Permanent

Olafur Eliasson's largest public artworks in the U.S., "Seeing Spheres", consists of five fifteen-and-a-half-feet-tall polished hydroformed steel spheres that stand in a circle around a central space. Each sphere supports a flat, circular mirrored face, framed by a ring of LED lights, which is oriented inward to reflect the mirrored faces of the surrounding spheres. Together, they produce a surprising environment of multilayered, reflected spaces in which the same people and settings appear again and again, visible from various unexpected angles. Tunnel-like sets of nested reflections open up in the mirrors, repeating countless times and disappearing into the distance. Situated on Chase Center’s 25,000-square-foot triangular plaza in front of the East Entrance to the arena, this striking artwork establishes a prominent public setting in Thrive City for visitors to meet and interact.

Best Viewing: After dusk.

Cliff Garten, 2015

Permanent

The monumental stainless steel and LED sculpture “Monarch” by Cliff Garten envisions the Monarch butterfly and its migration habits as a metaphor for how individuals become stronger by gathering together in communities. The artwork’s massing of Monarch butterflies forms a completely new image: the sculpture as a vision of the city’s neighborhoods. Light is an integral part of the piece. During the day, sunlight emanates through the installation, enlivening individual stainless steel butterflies. At night, programmable LED lighting illuminates the gathering of Monarchs with multi-colored luminescence.

Best Viewing: Arrive after dusk to view the oscillating LED illumination.

Jim Sanborn, 2006

Permanent

Anima is a towering cylinder of carved metal that is lit from within to cast shadowy bits of ancient text and poetry in a halo across the plaza. The beautifully illuminated words in different languages are from the Human Genome Project; an excerpt from Dr. Leslie Taylor; a quote from Louis Pasteur; text from Greek Physician Claudius Galen (150 AD); text from Roman historian Pliny (79 AD); and a quote from Qi Bo (450 BC), physician to the Chinese Emperor. The piece sits in front of a building for biotech companies, which explains the choices for the quotes.

Best Viewing: Any time after dusk.

Shimon Attie and Vale Bruck, 2015

Permanent

An ethereal play of language, light, glass and sky, Spiral of Gratitude is an immersive memorial to fallen San Francisco Police officers. Suspended from an oculus and skylight framing the sky above, the 17-foot-tall glass cylinder is inscribed with written expressions of gratitude and loss, gathered from surviving family members and crafted into a seamless, evocative poem. The piece is also framed by bas-relief text inscribed in the rear wall. The installation was commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission and created in collaboration with Vale Bruck. The poem was written by Margo Perin in collaboration with Shimon Attie and the Bay Area Legal Assistance Fund.

Best Viewing: Enter the San Francisco Public Safety Building's lobby during its hours of operation.

Jim Campbell, 2022

Permanent

LUMA Hotel has given the gift of light art to passersby on the corner of Third and Channel streets. Local art hero Jim Campbell has created another beautiful, site-specific, dynamic light art installation in the hotel's lobby that can be seen through floor-to-ceiling three-story windows. The prolific artist who installed “Day for Night” atop the Salesforce Tower created this striking installation that looks different from every angle and uses the reflection of the windows to amplify its movement. The figures within climb an infinite stretch of waterfall, allowing Campbell to create delight out of physical struggle.

HYBYCOZO, 2017

Permanent

“Illuminavia” is an icosahedron, a 20-paneled, platonic polyhedron solid created by HYBYCOZO that hangs from the ceiling of Bar VIA. Made of brass and LED lighting, the sculpture makes use of an optical illusion, the Moire effect, which occurs when patterns between the panels bend the light emitting from the center. If you line up the corners just right, you will see a new dynamic pattern appear between the curves.

Best Viewing: Enter the bar and stand about 15 feet back from the sculpture. Line up the corner closest to you with the corner that is on the opposite side of the sculpture to observe the pattern of light moving and bending through the sculpture.

Cliff Garten, 2015

Permanent

Ethereal Bodies, commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission, created a dynamic pivot point at the south hospital entrance by mediating arrivals and departures. During the day, the ensemble of sculptures, made of stainless-steel rods, gather sunlight. By night, these structures interact prismatically with the program of LED lights installed to illuminate the sculptures, which are activated using motion sensors.

Best Viewing: Main entrance of Zuckerberg SF General Hospital and Trauma Center.

Anna Valentine Murch, 2014

Permanent

Based on the concept of a river as a metaphor for life, “Archipelago” was created by artist Anna Valentina Murch for the plaza connecting the old and new buildings of the hospital complex. Located outside of the Acute Care Unit, an important feature of the installation is a six-foot-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 that meander through the space like eddies that flow across the plaza.

Best Viewing: Outdoor plaza that connects the old and new buildings of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital's Acute Care Unit.