Julie Chang is a San Francisco-based artist who coincidentally lives within blocks of the new Transbay Transit Center. She received her M.F.A. at Stanford University in 2007. Using a visual vocabulary that includes European wallpaper patterns, Chinese textiles and contemporary graphic design, she creates laser-cut acrylic chandeliers, graphic two-dimensional works, and painted floor murals. Her work explores the “nature of identity as an imposed character,” and the way in which patterns serve as powerful and ubiquitous markers of class. She is represented by Hosfelt Gallery in San Francisco and New York and has participated in numerous exhibitions throughout the Bay Area as well as the 2006 International Symposium of Interactive Media in Istanbul. She also received a MFA Studio Award from the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito in 2007.

Ms. Chang was selected as a finalist because of the way she explores complex issues of race, gender, class and culture through intricate and seductive designs. She is also the youngest of the five artists in the Transbay Public Art Program and represents the Steering Committee’s interest in supporting local, emerging artists. Ms. Chang’s contribution to the art program at the Transit Center is her intricately patterned design for the terrazzo floor of the Grand Hall. Her design is inspired by San Francisco’s Victorian architecture and its diverse culture.

Julie Chang’s design for the terrazzo floor of the Grand Hall welcomes visitors into a warm and inviting environment that evokes a lush sunlit Victorian garden. Mined from local ecology, design elements include California poppies and jewel-toned hummingbirds that will sparkle through a rich array of colored terrazzo mingled with mirrored glass. Integrated into the design is a subtle overlay of icons and patterns, which are drawn from the rich tapestry of people and cultures across the Bay Area. Visitors and commuters alike will enjoy discovering the floor’s many symbols and images including: floral circular rings derived from an Indian sari, cloud-like curves inspired by Chinese embroidery; Japanese crests; diamonds and chevrons found in a variety of sources including African textiles and Grecian pottery; and star and cross motifs from Islamic tiles. Spanning nearly 20,000 square feet, the Grand Hall will boast the largest fine art terrazzo installation in the nation to date. This is Julie Chang’s first public art commission.