U.S. General Services Administration
GSA’s Diverse Art Collection Shines Spotlight on African American Artists
GSA is home to one of the nation’s oldest and largest public art collections. Art is central to each federal building and land port of entry project. By investing one-half of one percent of the estimated construction cost of each new federal property to commission art, GSA continues to grow its diverse collection. Many commissioned pieces are designed specifically for the building or project and artists work to seamlessly incorporate their designs into the overall project.
As we close out African American History Month, here are several works of art created by African American artists who live and work in the Pacific Rim Region. All of these pieces were commissioned through GSA’s Art in Architecture program.
(untitled), Oliver L. Jackson, 1993
This marble and gold leaf obelisk sits atop a granite base in the plaza of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland, CA. Jackson was commissioned by GSA to create the piece in 1986 and it was permanently installed in the plaza in 1993 when the federal building opened.
Jackson, an Oakland-based sculptor, painter, and mixed-media artist still exhibits his works in galleries and museums across the country, and has an active studio in Oakland.
In addition to his community involvement in the arts, Jackson was a founder of the organization known as the African Continuum, “conceived as a vehicle for showing the fullness and continuity of African creative traditions”.
Star Grid, Gary Simmons, 2016
The six-panel high-gloss enamel and fiberglass painting depicts shooting stars and is installed in the lobby of the Los Angeles U.S. Courthouse.
“I selected the courthouse lobby as the location for my work, because it’s the building’s thoroughfare” said artist Gary Simmons. “It’s important to me for the art to be accessible to everyone who enters the building.”
Contemporary African-American artist Simmons was born in New York and has since migrated to the West Coast where he lives and works in the Los Angeles area. His work frequently features themes that address the subjects of race and class.
Street Singing, Raymond Saunders, 1993
Located in the lower level of the San Francisco Federal Building, this mixed media collage on wood depicts a colorful array of found objects, painted pieces and other imagery.
Saunders has a studio in Oakland and previously worked as a painting professor at Oakland’s California College of the Arts.
Mermaid and Whales at Dinner (top), When Auntie Meets Kimi for Suchi (bottom), Mary Lovelace O’Neal, 1993
These mixed media paintings by Mary Lovelace O’Neal hang in the North and South towers of the 5th Floor Rotunda at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland, CA. Lovelace O’Neal is another Oakland-based artist.
Born in Jackson Mississippi, Lovelace O’Neal was active during the Civil Rights movement and has strong ties to the San Francisco Bay Area. She was a professor and chair of the Art Practice Department at U.C. Berkeley and has received numerous awards and exhibited in many national and international exhibitions throughout her career.