Julie Chang

Julie Chang is a San Francisco-based artist who, at the time of her selection, coincidentally lived within blocks of the new Transbay Transit Center. 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 received her MFA at Stanford University in 2007. 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 designed the terrazzo floor of the Grand Hall, which 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 highlighted by 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: flower-like circular rings 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 boasts an expansive fine art terrazzo installation, where visitors and commuters alike will find themselves drawn into the colorful light-filled space, inspired to explore the myriad of symbols and compelled to linger.