BROADWAY PLAZA, Walnut Creek
Liliales by Cliff Garten RAWR by Joyce Hsu 2016-2019
Two major public artworks were part of a significant renovation of Broadway Plaza, a historic retail center in downtown Walnut Creek. The developer’s goal was to refresh and enliven the center, attracting a new crop of tenants and providing an enhanced experience for shoppers. Public art, required as part of the development conditions, was an opportunity to support this goal by providing unique, distinctive and engaging features within the site. Chandra Cerrito / Art Advisors led the development/design team in creating a comprehensive art plan, artist selection, the conceptual design process, securing city approvals, and ensuring artwork integration into the site.
Liliales is a stainless steel, aluminum, and LED artwork by Cliff Garten. It is integrated into the facade of the center’s new parking garage, allowing ventilation through its porous surface. During the day, the indigenous floral patterns featured on the metal surface shimmer in the sunlight, while at night a changing LED program cycles slowly through a variety of color combinations, bathing the sculpture in light and highlighting the entrance to the garage.
Cliff Garten, Liliales, 2016, stainless steel, aluminum, LED, 12 x 28 feet
RAWR consists of five imaginative sculptures by Joyce Hsu. Three oversize origami-like hummingbirds fly within landscape planters along a pedestrian corridor lined with retail storefronts.
Two large-scale dinosaurs greet visitors and passers-by at one of the main access points into the shopping plaza. With seats, moveable parts, and a periscope for children to enjoy, the interactive artworks provide the perfect resting spot for weary shoppers and their young ones.
Joyce Hsu, RAWR, 2016-2019, fiberglass, metal, Flying Hummingbirds 3 feet long, T-Rex Robot 12 feet high, Dino Bench 6 feet high