“We Will Walk Right Up To The Sun” at SFO Int’l Airport Terminal 1 AirTrain Extension by Sarah Cain
Sarah Cain Website: http://www.sarahcainstudio.com/
Client:San Francisco Arts Commission Work: Fabrication & Installation Category: Artist & Designer Collaboration, Public Art Materials: Stained Glass, Fused Glass Place: San Francisco International Airport AirTrain Extension
In a stunning work commissioned by the San Francisco Art Commission for the Airtrain at the San Francisco International Airport, this 10-by-150-foot set of panels is the first permanent public work made by the artist, who is known for colorful site-specific paintings and elaborate, chimerical installations. Of this stained glass piece, Sarah explains, “In a lot of ways, this was a natural fit to the way I work on paper, as well as the amount of colors I use in my paintings and works on site. It also opened up the works by creating the first permanent pieces, as they are all ephemeral. One of my favorite parts about the location is you don’t have to be in the airport to see it. Anyone can take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to the Airtrain and get off at the Hyatt Hotel station stop and view the work.” Bon Voyage and Welcome.
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With the extension of the Blue Line AirTrain from the Rental Car Center to the new Grand Hyatt at SFO, the Arts Commission had the opportunity to work with Sarah Cain, a painter and multi-media artist whose practice is characterized by immersive site-specific installations awash in bold color. Her work references illuminated manuscripts, prisms and cascading rainbows, all of which lend themselves perfectly to glass and light. Extending 150 feet along the AirTrain platform, We Will Walk Right Up To The Sun is a show-stopping stained glass installation comprised of 37 panels with 270 colors framed in soldered zinc and arranged so no two adjoining fragments are the same shade.
According to Cain, “We Will Walk Right Up To The Sun is my first time working in the medium glass. I found it to be a great way to reference many sides of my practice with the colorful washy fused panels looking like sections of my paintings. This two-year-long process has involved so many people and has taught me how to take an idea and create it into something wonderful for many of people to experience for a long time.”
Stepping off the AirTrain platform, travelers will enter the lobby of the new Grand Hyatt at SFO. According to General Manager Henning Nopper, “Impactful, artful elements are key to creating a one of a kind experience for hotel guests and local visitors. We are fortunate to work with the San Francisco Arts Commission to bring immersive public art crafted by world-renowned artists into Grand Hyatt at SFO. These works of art are built into the fabric of the property and each piece provides a unique storytelling opportunity that connects us to both the city and our guests.”
