My show at the Triton Museum @tritonmuseum , “You Can Never Go Home Again” was reviewed by @jsedalatpour . Link to the review is in my bio.
My Artist Talk is on November 10, from 1-2pm and the exhibition is up through January 12. Hope you can see the show!
Meet artist Phillip Hua @philliphua and help shape a new public artwork for California Avenue.
Join us for a virtual introduction this Wednesday May 6 or stop by the pop up table on Cal Ave on Thursday May 7 to learn more about the upcoming mural at the Sherman Avenue Parking Garage and share your thoughts.
"Art is our one true global language...It speaks to our need to reveal, heal, and transform. It transcends our ordinary lives and lets us imagine what is possible."
- Richard Kamler, Artist and Activist
I am proud to share that my daughter's image is part of the remarkable artwork created by San Francisco-based artist, Phillip Hua, for the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland's outpatient mental health services building dedicated to children and youth.
It brings me immense joy to know that her kind, gorgeous, and gentle face in this moving, monumental work supports and contributes to the health and well-being of everyone who enters this healing space.
Tomorrow (Tuesday 7/15) at 6:30-8pm, join me for an art reception for a mural I completed at 836M.
“(Not So) Imaginary Friend” is a temporary indoor mixed media mural commissioned by 836M. The concept was inspired by a story of a friend’s granddaughter who regularly talks to Google’s AI. I thought about how an imaginary friend could be replaced with an AI friend and how that could not only remove the creativity involved in the dialogue between the child and an imaginary friend, but I also was thinking about a generation that will have grown up with AI. What would the future of AI look like to people who have normalized and even befriended it.
836M is located at 836 Montgomery Street in San Francisco. The event is free and open to the public. Other muralists are also encouraged to attend to meet and connect with the organization.
Congrats to the Goettingen Neighborhood Group for the completion of the #StepsofWisdom Stairway! Projects like this are what make #Portola the #LittleHoodThatCould!
#sfstairways #sanfrancisco #portola #portolasf #sfportola #sfblockparty #southeastsf #communityparty #sfgardening #sfart #sfartists #publicart #sfpublicart
To everyone who has reached out, thank you for your concern.
The SFPA, our fiscal sponsor, dissolved earlier this week due to financial mismanagement. It had been the conduit for us to receive donations and grant money. The money that we worked so hard to raise over decades is in peril. My hope is that the city or someone will step in and make all the community groups affected by the SFPA whole again.
At risk is not just money. It’s the trust, motivation and determination to make San Francisco cleaner, safer, and more beautiful. If all these groups, comprised of good, caring and passionate volunteers are left out to dry, what happens to our resolve and willingness to continue?
Over the last 11 years of living in the Portola, I’ve met so many wonderful neighbors and volunteers. Regular, working people who simply care enough about their home and city that they offer their time and energy to improve their surroundings not just for themselves, but for their community.
We are moving forward with tomorrow’s celebration, regardless of what the future holds because we, the Goettingen Neighbors Group, need this. We have persevered through so much unspeakable incompetence, trial, and nonsense. We are celebrating the physical manifestation of so much community outreach, connection, fundraising, emails, meetings, labor, frustration, joy and WORK. We need this shot in the arm to sustain us through whatever happens next.
The first idea for the stairs (Goettingen Cascade) was a waterfall that would glow in the dark at night. Using high grade glow in the dark pebbles embedded into the treads and mirrors tiles on the risers, the idea was that the mirrors would not only look like water during the day, but would reflect the glow from the glowing elements at night.
These sketches from 2015-2019 showed how the idea started to evolve.
But as the idea started to take shape, a few factors caused us to rethink it. First, there was already another waterfall stairway in the Excelsior. No artist wants to make a public artwork that looks like one that’s already around, let alone one that is so close by.
Second, the stairs face north, meaning it doesn’t get a lot of direct sunlight for most of the year. This wouldn’t be enough of a charge for the glowing pebbles to be very bright or last very long.
Lastly, for the the glow in the dark elements to really be seen, there would need to be no light pollution, meaning no streetlights or any other lighting on the stairs. And that would create a safety issue for the pedestrians. So that idea needed to be scrapped.
#philliphua #publicart #stairway #wip #sketch #tiledstairway #sanfrancisco #goettingencascade #stepstowisdom
11 years ago, I had an idea to beautify a stairway in my neighborhood that I’d just moved into one year prior. I met neighbors and started to become active in fundraising for the idea through a bunch of community events. This group of neighbors had already started a process of landscaping and beautifying an abandoned hillside.
In 2019, we were awarded a Community Challenge Grant and began even more fundraising to make the Steps to Wisdom stairway a reality. But through the pandemic, delays, and city bureaucracy, we are finally reaching the finish line.
A central theme of the stairway is reflection. We asked the community to reflect on their life: what’s a life lesson you’ve learned? What advice would you give your younger self? What thought got you through struggle? Words of Wisdom in a variety of languages were collected from community centers, neighborhood events, social media, and retirement homes. I loved reading all of these Words of Wisdom and thinking about what each person must have gone through to choose these sentiments.
We engraved these Words of Wisdom into tiles on the risers. The idea is to allow visitors to reflect on these words and see how it might apply to their own life, and at the top of the stairs, the tiles are fully mirrored, becoming a literal manifestation of reflection.
The colorful abstract design is meant to look like a gradient that goes from dark to light (from the bottom to the top) suggesting themes of ascension and illumination.
With so many tiled stairways in San Francisco, the challenge was to create something different from what was already here. I chose an abstract design vs a pictorial one and made the gradient a little more painterly and chaotic than the more structured and orderly ones. We incorporated the community life experiences to give the design a little more heart. And the mirrored element gives the stairway an experiential and metaphorical component. I wanted the stairway to be an introspective journey like a labyrinth.
Renderings by @slorpthegillman
Tiles by @flmceramics and @fireclaytile
#onlyinsf #publicart #publicstairs #sanfrancisco #ccg #tiles #laserengraved #philliphua #stairs #portolasf
Collaborative Mural with Sonoma Academy
Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of working with Sonoma Academy students on a hand painted mural. I was invited by Hillary Younglove to be an artist in residence and I spend the week with students from three different classes to complete and install the artwork. I designed the painting and transferred the image to 48 panels for the students to paint and apply gold metal leaf to.
The piece, called “Curious Cub,” represents the students of Sonoma Academy. Their mascot is a coyote. It was a wonderful way to start the new year with this experience.
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#philliphua #artwork #mural #goldleaf #publicart #sonomaacademy #artistinresidence #teachingart #coyote #cub #gold #grid #artforeveryone
@hillary.younglove
My solo show, “You Can Never Go Home Again,” at the Triton Museum in Santa Clara, was reviewed in 48Hills by DeWitt Cheng. Link in bio.
The show contemplates the choices and challenges we face when we choose between the environment and the economy. It blends the ideas of nostalgia and childhood with the changing landscape of San Jose as the forefront of innovation and the technological future.
Growing up in San Jose, I witnessed a San Jose of fields and orchards that slowly transformed into Silicon Valley. The fields and orchards that I remembered are now office parks and commercial spaces. Where the change has been an economic boon to the area, I question what was replaced. My memories of San Jose no longer align with what it is today.
The show is up through January 12. Admission to the museum is free and the Triton is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-4pm.
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#philliphua #contemporaryart #nature #artwork #digitalart #asianart #printmaking #environmentalart
Rainy day ribbon cutting yesterday at 180 Jones St where I was commissioned to create 7 plaster moth medallions on the exterior of a 70 unit affordable housing apartment building. Thanks to @londonbreed@tndcsf@cahillcontractors@vanmeterwilliamspollack for the opportunity to help make the Tenderloin more beautiful and livable.
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#publicart #philliphua #plaster #moth #goldleaf #newcontemporaryart #tenderloin #affordablehousing #onlyinsf #artforeveryone
