Installed in San Francisco in 2008 this landmark sculpture anchors the prominent location of Fillmore Plaza, the home of West-Coast Jazz.
Hard Bop rises from the centre of the Fillmore district as a vertical improvisation in steel, water, and movement. Standing over six metres high, the sculpture draws its energy from the language of jazz, particularly the syncopated rhythms and spontaneous structures of bebop music that once animated this historic neighbourhood of San Francisco. I wanted the work to embody a sense of ascent and flow, as though forms were unfolding in space like musical phrases climbing through the air.
The stainless steel elements twist and interlock in a precarious balance, suggesting both tension and harmony. Their reflective surfaces capture fragments of the surrounding city architecture, sky, light, and passing figures allowing the sculpture to remain in constant visual motion. Water circulates beneath the structure, introducing sound and reflection as active components of the work, while the granite and concrete base anchors the composition within the public square.
Installed at The Fillmore Center, the sculpture acknowledges the cultural memory of the area while also speaking to transformation and renewal. Hard Bop is ultimately about rhythm as a sculptural force: the translation of musical improvisation into physical form, space, and public experience.
