Public art, a vital part of our local communities, can spark conversation, reflect identity, history and shared values and transform the ordinary to inspiring.
Hannah Myung, 4, from Santa Clara, plays on Gary Price’s sculpture called “Circle of Peace” outside of the Central Park Library in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Fun and fantastic works of public art abound in the Bay Area, which is blessed with an abundance of creative talent. Stroll around and you’ll find pieces ranging from silly to stunning, from retro to futuristic. Here are some of our favorite artworks in the Bay Area.
~ Randy McMullen
“Albuquerque,” a large welded steel sculpture created by Gale Wagner in 1982 can be found at the lawn of Palo Alto Art Center in Palo Alto, Calif. Photographed on March 18, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) The sculpture Color Face by Wanxin Zhang at Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. This work was part of a Color Face series which started in 2007 it is reference from Chinese opera performances where actors’ faces are painted in a stylized fashion. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Bear claws from the grizzly bear statute at the Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) “Lupe the Mammoth” by artists Freya Bardell and Brian Howe, along the Guadalupe River in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Made of galvanized steel it depicts a 12.5 foot juvenile mammoth which was found at that spot by San Jose resident Roger Castillo in 2005. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) “Crocodile Dandy” a bronze steel sculpture created by Bill Bond in 1998 can be found at the bus stop near the intersection of East Middlefield Road and Ellis Street in Mountain View, Calif. Photographed on March 18, 2025. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) A public artwork called Tonglen by artist Ryan Mathern is on display on Mare Island in Vallejo, Calif., on Sunday, March 2, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) “Journey of a Bottle” created in 2010 by artist Marta Thoma and is on display at the Walnut Creek Library in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) The Orb designed and computated by artist Marc Fornes is on display at Google’s Charleston East Campus in Mountain View, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. The orb is constructed of ultra-thin aluminum and stands 33 feet high and is held together with 217,847 rivets. Depending on what time of the day it is, a visitor can walk around the Orb and experience a different perspective based on how the light falls on the artwork. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) A public art piece named “Fountain” by Woody Othello, dominates the corner of Murphy and McKinley Avenues in Sunnyvale, Calif., Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) A view of artist Taraneh Hemami's "Ever Green" sculpture in front of the Atlas high-rise tower at the corner of 13th and Franklin Streets in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Ever Green is a 24-foot oak tree crafted of stainless steel and surfaces of iridescent green glass. Hemami was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) A view of artist Patricia Vader's "Wheely Whirly Peacock" sculpture at the Orinda Public Library in Orinda, Calif., on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. The city acquired the sculpture in 2012. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) Isaline Nemeth, 6, of Oakland, reaches for her friend Ava Nakayama, 6, of Orinda, as they play on a 42-foot long crocodile statue named “Niloticus” created in 2019 by artist Peter Hazel on display at Point San Pablo Harbor in Richmond, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. Niloticus was created to be shown at Burning Man. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Pedestrians walk past Gordon Huether’s 13-foot tall “Hubcap” artwork outside the County Garage in downtown Redwood City, Calif., Thursday, March 27, 2025. Completed in 2021, the piece contains 1,000 chrome hubcaps. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) The “Truth is Beauty” sculpture by artist Marco Cochrane at the San Leandro Tech Campus on Sunday, March 9, 2025, in San Leandro, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Birdhouse artwork called "Control Tower" by artist Cameron Hockenson is seen on a tree at Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, Calif., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) The “Flame of Inspiration” sculpture by artist Amie Jacobsen at Inspiration Plaza on Monday, March 17, 2025, in Fremont, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) The wind-activated kinetic sculpture "Two Rectangles, Vertical Gyratory Up V" is on Koll Center Parkway in Pleasanton, Calif., on Saturday, March 22, 2025. The sculpture, which was dedicated on January 13, 1988, was made by kinetic sculptor George Rickey. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)