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Eric Powell

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Confluence

Steel, Paint
H: 8’ W: 13’ and H: 8’ W: 3.5’
2011
Berkeley, California

Client: Affordable Housing Associates, Berkeley, California

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Confluence welcomes tenants and visitors with its swirling offset grid pattern.  These entry gates were commissioned for a new housing development in Berkeley.  The building is designed for youth who need a new footing in life after moving on from the foster care system. Confluence is designed to evoke, inspire and encourage the confluence of community within and without its parameters.

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Flotilla

Steel, Paint
H: 4' W: 90'
2015
San Francisco, California

Client: San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, Lennar, and CMG Architects

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This monumental concrete deck is located at the heart of the historic Hunter’s Point Shipyard. Flotilla makes reference to the adjacent naval shipyard industry and the landmark crane, which is visible from the deck. The panels feature silhouetted ship forms and other nautical iconography.

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Napa Benches

Steel, Tazlan Wood, Historical Cast Iron Bookends, Bronze Plaques
Benches H: 52" W: 96" D: 17" | Chairs H: 42" W: 22" D: 17"
2015
Napa, California

Client: City of Napa

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These eight benches and two chairs were commissioned for permanent installation along First Street in downtown Napa. The bookends are now integrated into the bench backs. The 1901 Goodman Library decommissioned six hundred Victorian-style cast iron bookends. The bookends are now integrated into the bench backs-returning them to their original home.

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Cayuga Portal

Steel, Paint
H: 9’ W: 12’ D: 3”
2013
San Francisco, California

Client: San Francisco Arts Commission in conjunction with San Francisco Parks and Recreation.

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The two entry gates to the park were informed and inspired by the nearly four hundred extraordinary mystical, archetypal wood carvings.  These unique sculptures were created from fallen trees within the park by caretaker Demitro Baracas. The gates celebrate these unique sculptures through a composition that collages some of the most mysterious of the sculptures that create an inviting and intriguing entry to the park.

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Bookshelves

Stainless Steel, Steel, Paint
Varying Dimensions
2012
Berkeley, California

Client: Elmwood Public Library through the Berkeley Arts Commission

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Bookshelves is a play on the rich tradition of old-world bookshelves. Included with the books are a decoy, a bust of a famous author, a globe and a violin.

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Animal Fence

Steel, Paint
H: 4' W: 165'
Brentwood, California

Client: Brentwood Arts Commission

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Animal Fence includes a variety of animal figures bordering the children’s playground at Brentwood Civic Center. Also included in this project are a twenty-foot mural and a mosaic fountain.

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Tools of the Trade

Galvanized Steel, Paint
H: 28” W: 140’
2011
Stockton, California

Client: Stockton Arts Commission

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The sculptural screens for the new Davis Road Bridge serve both as functional safety barriers and as a tribute to Stockton’s significant past as a major manufacturer of agricultural machinery.

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Oak Leaf Benches

2024

Steel, Wood (cypress)

6’x5’x18”

Client: A developer commissioned the five benches for a new multi-housing project in Cupertino, CA.  Each of the five benches represents a different variety of oak leaf, acknowledging Cupertino’s history and love of oak trees.

Arts Commissioner: Dorka Keehn

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School of Fish Railings

Steel, Patina
H: 38” W: 16’
2009
Stockton, California

Client: Stockton Arts Commission

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These playful railings enliven the waterfront environment of the Marina promenade in downtown Stockton.

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Mandala Gates

Steel, Paint
H: 12’ W: 29’
2007
Berkeley, California

Client: Berkeley Arts Commission

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The entry gates for the Berkeley Corporation Yard contain many references to the rich and diverse history of Berkeley. with specific references to the long-ago displaced local railroad, agriculture, native plants and ethnic diversity. They also serve as the gateway to the landmark Ratcliff Buildings built in 1916.

Mandala Gates is an excellent example of public art being a successful solution to an otherwise very challenging problem.  After the two sets of gates were installed, some long-standing complaints by local residents regarding the location of the corporation yard were resolved.

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Ripple Effect

Steel, Paint
H: 14’ W: 25’
2006
Madison, Wisconsin

Client: Madison Arts Commission for the Goodman Swimming Pool

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Ripple Effect emulates the flow of water through the use of forged, heat-bent steel.

Ripple Effect integrates three gates and a sculptural centerpiece. It functions as the entryway to Madison's first public swimming pool which welcomes visitors through its reference to the flow and movement of water.

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Bella Vista Park Gate

Steel, Cast Iron, Patina
H: 120” W: 84”
2005
Oakland, California

Client: Oakland Arts Commission for Bella Vista Park

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This gate is made entirely of found metal objects, which the children at Bella Vista Elementary School helped to curate. It includes several kinetic parts and two busts from this historic Oakland neighborhood that was home to Gertrude Stein and ‘Borax’ Smith.

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Shibumi Doors

Steel, Patina
2014
Berkeley, California

Client: Shibumi Gallery

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The doors serve as an inviting entry into Shibumi Gallery featuring a beautifully curated selection of local, national and international jewelry and art.

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Ingleside Gateway

2021

Steel, Paint

30’ x 12’

Location: San Francisco, CA

Commissioned by the Ocean Avenue Association, San Francisco, CA., in conjunction with the San Francisco Arts Commission.

The gateway’s design emulates the ocean and wind currents so prominent in the Ingleside neighborhood of San Francisco. It creates a vibrant transition point, focal point and meeting place for this bustling, diverse neighborhood.

 

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Hill Street Gate

Steel, Iron Varying Dimensions
2002
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The gate and railings are composed of historical iron objects from the client’s farm in Kentucky. The client specifically requested that this material be used as an integral part of the project. Many of these objects, removed from their original context (for example as part of a plow or tractor) emanate a strong and elegant sculptural presence.

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Wallis Ranch Benches

Steel, Tazlan Wood
H: 54” W: 72” D: 20”
2017

Dublin, California

Client: Commissioned by Trumark Homes with the Dublin Heritage and Cultural Arts Division, Dublin, California
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These four benches echo the design of the adjacent entry gates to this growing tri-valley community.

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Riders

Steel, Paint
72” x 42”
2016
Hyatt Place, Emeryville, California

Client: Commissioned by Bay Street Hotel Properties, LLC , represented by Andrea Schwartz Gallery.

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Riders was created to emulate the coastal landscape and represent the bike culture that is so intrinsic to Emeryville and the Bay Area at large.

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Missouri Street Gate

Steel, bronze
95” x 45"
2004

San Francisco, California
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Commissioned for a Mediterranean-style home in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. The centerpiece of the gate portrays the client’s old lemon tree.


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Mitochondria

Painted Steel, Dimensions vary
2018

Emeryville, California

Client: Wareham Development in conjunction with the City of Emeryville

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Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of the cell. This artwork for the grand staircase at EmeryStation West represents the building blocks of life including forms inspired by cell division, chromosomes and DNA strands.

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Cul-de-sac Gates

Steel, Paint
H: 6’ W: 30’ (Main Gate)
2010
Santa Clarita, California

Client: Los Angeles Arts Commission for Firehouse #156

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Also called Maps and Mapping: A Firefighter’s Lifeline. The compositions for the gates are comprised of the collaged shapes of cul-de-sacs found in the surrounding neighborhood. Commissioned for Firehouse #156 in Santa Clarita, the gates create a visual and symbolic connection between the firehouse and the community.

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Bodega Gate

2007

Steel, Paint

6’ x 14’

Private Commission

The flowing lines of the gate evokes and mirrors the beauty of the surrounding wind-swept, rolling coastal hills of Sonoma County in Northern California.

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prev / next
Back to Gates & Functional Art
2
Confluence
4
Flotilla
10
Napa Benches
3
Cayuga Portal
5
Bookshelves
4
Animal Fence
4
Tools of the Trade
9
Oak Leaf Benches
2
School of Fish
5
Mandala Gates
2
Ripple Effect
4
Bella Vista Park Gate
1
Shibumi Doors
6
Ingleside Gateway
5
Hill Gate
1
Wallis Ranch Benches
4
Riders
MissouriGate300dpi cropped_760.jpg
3
Missouri Street Gate
3
Mitochondria
4
Cul-de-sac Gates
7
Bodega Gate