In the Living Rock by Samm Kunce

Civic Center Benches by Peter Reiquam

No Title by Bob Zoell

Photographs on the DC Subway by Andrew Z. Glickman

A Florence Moment by Ricardo Duffy

The Will to Progress by Ricardo Mendoza

"In the Living Rock" by Samm Kunce, Civic Center Station, 101 S. Hill St, in downtown Los Angeles. (Southwest corner of First and Hill streets)

Samm Kunce’s artwork “In the Living Rock” explores ideas gathered from science and literature. A recurrent theme in her work is the celebration of inherent beauty of natural materials. The tile mural runs the length of the curved planter bed wall and a hanging garden exquisitely executed in Venetian cake glass mosaic supported by an expanse of striated sand colored granite. Kunce is a Brooklyn based artist exhibiting regularly in New York and in Germany. Her public artwork includes “Under Bryant Park”, commissioned by the NYC MTA Arts for Transit Program and awarded the 2002 Best Public Art project by the New York Municipal Art Society.

"Civic Center Benches" by Peter Reiquam, platform of the Civic Center Station, 101 S. Hill St, in downtown Los Angeles.

Artist Peter Reiquam specializes in the design and fabrication of public furnishings that are both fun and utilitarian. His recent work, a sleek series of four contemporary subway ‘sofas,’ provide a seating area where commuters may comfortably sit and talk to one another while waiting for the train. Reiquam is a Seattle-based artist who obtained his MFA from the Yale School of Art. He has over 20 years experience working on public art projects, including commissions for the Tri-Met Public Art Program Portland and the Washington State Arts Commission, as well as projects at the King County International Airport and the Meany Hall for Performing Arts, Seattle. He was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Fellowship in 1986.

"No Title" by Bob Zoell, Platforms of Wilshire/Vermont Metro Rail Station; 3191 Wilshire Blvd.; Wilshire District.

Artist Bob Zoell has abstracted the appearance and arrangement of typographic design symbols to create a bold and graphic series of ceramic tile murals. The artwork covers four columns at station platforms: two on the upper level and two in the lower. The artist worked carefully to establish an animated and playful dynamic between his characters. Text appears to dance at it’s own happy pace, while other figures run off kilter as if ready to jump off the columns to greet commuters. Bob Zoell’s artwork has been featured in the New Yorker magazine and he has authored and illustrated many children’s books. He has been included in exhibitions throughout the world including the Fundacio Joan Miro, Barcelona and the Center Georges Pompidou, Paris. His artwork is included in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.

"Photographs on the DC Subway" by Andrew Z. Glickman: Seven illuminated photo panels on the mezzanine level of the Wilshire/Normandie Station, 3510 Wilshire Blvd., Wilshire District

Andrew Z. Glickman uses photography to document how subway passengers behave among total strangers. In train cars with ample space, passengers position themselves at carefully calibrated distances from their neighbors. However, once that space has been established they begin to relax and act as they might do in the privacy of home. Glickman prefers to work unnoticed using a 35mm rangefinder camera with a silent shutter and without a flash. Born and raised in New York City, Glickman received his education at the Bronx High School of Science and the University of Virginia. His work has been supported by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and exhibited at galleries and museums including the Art Institute of Chicago. Photographs from this series have been published by the Urban Institute and Communication Arts. Glickman lives with his wife and son in Bethesda, Maryland.

"A Florence Moment" by Ricardo Duffy: Platform of the Florence Station of the Metro Blue Line, located at 7225 Graham Avenue, in Central Los Angeles.

Artist Ricardo Duffy, after visiting the neighborhood along Florence Avenue, was inspired to create tile images depicting lively local storefronts, dynamic pedestrian traffic and area landmarks by the dynamic foot traffic along the storefront-filled street. Lively and colorful, the immediate community is primarily a mix of new immigrants from Mexico and Central America along with long-standing African American and Anglo residents. The Metro Florence Station is a narrow center platform rail station that sits in the center of this bustling community. Four large-scale steel sign posts on the platform house seating for the rail customers. The artist attached eight whimsical ceramic artwork panels to the top of the seating structures.

"The Will to Progress" by Ricardo Mendoza: street-level entrance of the Firestone Station of the Metro Blue Line, located at 8615 Graham Ave., in Central Los Angeles

Artist Ricardo Mendoza designed a brightly energetic ceramic artwork at the existing concrete columns at the lower level of Florence Station in the area where passengers make bus/rail connections. The imagery consists of larger than life figures appearing to hold up the railway. The hand painted ceramic tile, both flat and relief, gives the columns a vibrant and unique look that transforms a predominantly hard-edged environment into one of inspiration and color.