Marta Thoma Hall CV
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Public Installations
Cosmos, for the Gulf Coast University Science Lobby, St. Petersburg, Florida
Cosmos is a suspended, spiral sculpture representing “an abstract colorful cosmos of hypothetical stars and galaxies,” is comprised of recycled glass bottles and solar-powered electrical components stitched onto a framework of steel and welded aluminum that is suspended by stainless steel cables from beams overhead. 35’ x 21’ x 15’, at the lobby entrance of Hudson Hall, a gathering area for students.
The lobby connects two buildings and sculpture is illustrates the use of solar power to move kinetic art elements. 2017
Brainworks, for Bestor Art Park in San Jose, CA
Brainworks is a landmark sculpture for the Martha Gardens neighborhood in San Jose. It was inspired by the artists and art enthusiasts who work and reside in the San Jose Community. “I won the commission and wanted to represent the community by creating the suggestion of head with neurons spiraling up and spinning around the head as the nerve endings take in and send messages.” It is made of colored recycled glass bottles, welded steel spoons donated by the community, with integrated solar panels, welded steel recycled light poles; 30’ x 12’ x 12’. The sculpture is illuminated at night by solar energy gathered during the day from integrated solar panels. It has a spinning cone at its peak which shifts in the wind. Designed and installed in 2016
Journey of a water Drop, in Blaine, Washington
Blue Splash is a suspended sculpture made of hand colored recycled glass bottles and steel; 18′ x 8′ x 7′
Suspended above the entrance to the main water office building, it was commissioned by the City of Blaine Water Treatment Facility to highlight the beauty of water and its importance to the environment. The sculpture represents the local watershed and cycle of water with oversized rain or tear drops falling and flowing over the Earth. Created in 2016
Water Source, Gila Blue, and Gila Mural at the Water Campus for the City of Goodyear, AZ
Water Source, Gila Blue, and Gila Mural, two sculptures and a mural made of colored recycled glass bottles, integrated solar panels, acrylic colorful panels, lighting, ceramic tile, cast polymer, and welded steel. The largest sculpture is 125’ x 52’ x 25’ and runs alongside Campus Drive. There are spinning waterdrops which turn with the wind and a winding cathedral of colored glass one can walk under. Waterway Cover is a shelter made of steel, tile, and glass bottles and it is attached to the main Water Campus office building, providing outdoor shelter for the dining area. Blue Flow is attached to the wall of the Water Campus office entrance. The sculpture trio are statements about the importance of water and the environment. They also illustrate the use of solar power to move kinetic art elements. 2015
Cosmos, for the Gulf Coast University Science Lobby, St. Petersburg, Florida
Cosmos is a suspended, spiral sculpture made of colored recycled glass bottles, integrated solar panels, acrylic colorful panels and welded steel; 60′ x 42 x 12′, three stories at the lobby entrance and gathering area for students. The lobby connects two buildings and sculpture is a signature statement about the environment and illustrates the use of solar power to move kinetic art elements. 2014
Double Wave, for San Francisco Convention Center Plaza
20′ x 8′ x 7′ Welded steel and recycled, hand colored, safety treated glass bottles. It highlights with panels and spirals of steel the movement and beauty of water with its importance to the environment. The colorful bottles are at once symbols of waste and the potential to recycle and highlight the beauty of the material. 2013
Journey of a Bottle, for the Walnut Creek Main Public Library
Journey is a suspended steel sculpture made of hand colored recycled glass bottles and welded steel; 60′ x 42 x 12′, three stories at the Main Entrance over spiral staircase. It represents the journey of a bottle from star dust, to sand, to glass, to a beautiful bottle for drinking, then to recycle bin. Hopefully the process continues as bottles are recycled. “The art spirals overhead in a galaxy of glass bottles floating upward in space like stars and cosmic bodies. The bottles are an assortment of the every-day kind, in various shades of blue, green, purple, and rose.” Install date 2010.
Two Tears, for the Metropolitan Museum of Fresno
Hand colored recycled glass bottles and steel; 15′ x 8′ x 7′
Two Tears was commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Science in Fresno, CA. The sculpture represents the cycle of water in the symbol of large rain or tear drops falling to Earth. God is crying over the state of the environment. Created in 2011
Diving Whales, for the City of Santa Cruz two Roundabout Projects finalist
The Commission was presented with a concept of diving whales made of recycled bottles and welded steel, “Through these public sculptures, created mainly from industrial steel and reclaimed bottles, the ordinary is made extraordinary; the uniform, unique; the utilitarian, sublime,” is a quote from the concept proposal. The project was halted due to lack of funds. 2009
Stretch, at Oakland City Center Lobby in downtown Oakland
Stretch was an installation of several sculpture represented by enormous steel figure-like armatures wearing stitched mesh clothing. Little girl figures stand 12’ tall, standing in enormous cement cast shoes. In the large installation there were also 5’ diameter planet-like spheres cast in cement with “ruffled skirt-like planetary rings around their fat waist. Installed for 6 months, 2008
Portraits of Youth, an installation on the Civic Center Plaza in Palo Alto, CA
Portraits of Youth exhibition followed receiving a fellowship award from the Youths Council of Santa Clara.
Twelve cast cement child-like figures were positioned on the plaza along with two large planet-like spheres made of cast and polished cement with mesh skirts. The installation was up for four months in 2008
In Honor of Egrets, for the City of San Leandro
The cast bronze sculpture of three dynamic Egrets with back lighting was commissioned by the City of San Leandro for the entrance to the newly renovated San Leandro City Harbor. It stands 20’ x 10’ x 10’ without its pedestal. 2007
Rrrun, for Alma Street Park in Palo Alto, CA
Rrrun was commissioned by the Palo Alto Arts Commission for Alma Park which runs along Alma Street a busy road. Made of cast cement, it is a hybrid of automobile and person, the legs chubby and child-like in the act of running beside or toward the cars on the road. 2007
Go Mama, for California Avenue in Palo Alto
Go Mama was commissioned by the Palo Alto Arts Commission to brighten the street for the local community. Made of cast bronze, it represents a mother in the form of a hand-stitched Mexican doll, in the action of running. On her belly she carries the face of a child who looks out with surprise and maybe horror. Around the base of the sculpture, a local poet contributed the words “Herstory… Ourstory… History” with a Spanish translation. The sculpture honors the journey of motherhood in a complex and lighthearted manner. 2005
Alma Street Mural, a Utilities Fence for City of Palo Alto
The Alma Street Mural was commissioned by the Palo Alto Arts Commission to brighten a dark corridor of Alma Street, a busy thoroughfare. The work was made of painted and cut-out wood shapes and lighting. It ran 150’ long, 8’ in height, with found objects, 8” in width. Created in 2002
Earth Tear for NORCAL Gardens in South San Francisco
Earth Tear was created during an Artist-In-Residency at Sanitary Fill and Recology under the ownership of NORCA Corp. It was the first program of its kind and has been copied across the country for 25 years. Earth Tear was made 250 discarded tequila mix bottles and welded steel and stands 6.5 x 5’ x 5’. It was the seminal art that led to many recycled public art commissions. 1993
Solo Exhibitions
Portraits of Youth 2, in Bestor Art Park, San Jose, CA, installation of multiple cement figures, 2016, in conjunction with “Brainworks.”
K. Saari Gallery, Steamboat Springs, CO, recent glass and steel sculpture, July – Sept. 2009
Triangle Gallery, London U.K recent stitched, mesh sculpture, Triangle Gallery, September 2008
AIR Gallery, N.Y. sculpture and projections, collaborations with Ruth Eckland, NY, 2008
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Garden, sculpture and projections, San Francisco, CA, 2007
Costa Rica National Museum of Art and Design, “Aparitions” sculpture and projections, in San Jose, Costa Rica, 2005
Triton Museum of Art, Arts Council of Silicon Valley Fellowship Exhibition, Santa Clara, CA 2003
“Spilt Milk” paintings and constructions, J. Claramunt Gallery, Soho, New York, paintings from the Sanitary Fill Artist in Residency, April 7 – May 11, 1994
“Radius” Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA, Henry Hopkins selected, July 11 – August 7, 1994
NORCAL Artist in Residence Exhibition, San Francisco Fill Company, San Francisco, Jan. 4 – May 17, 1993
San Francisco Museum of Art Gallery, Fort Mason, San Francisco, Ca. 1993
Works Gallery, San Jose, CA, constructions and enamel paintings, 1991
Rolando Castellon Gallery, painted constructions, San Francisco, CA, 1988
Spangenberg Gallery, Palo Alto, CA, recent paintings and prints, 1987
Richard Sumner Gallery, Palo Alto, CA, recent etchings and paintings, 1986
Hof Film Festival, film “The Flock,” premiered, Hof, West Germany,1983
“Fantasies and Visions” at the University of Oregon Museum of Art, oil paintings, Eugene, Oregon,
“Fantasies and Visions” traveling exhibition to Northwest Museums: WA, Oregon, N Dakota, and Wisconsin 1982-84
San Francisco Museum of Art, paintings, curated by Rolando Castellon, San Francisco, CA, 1977
Richard Sumner Gallery, Palo Alto, CA, recent etchings, 1975
Awards, Publications, Collections, Professional Affiliations
Awards, Publications, Collections, Professional Affiliations
Founding President and Executive Member of the South Bay Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art, 1989-94
Artist in residency at NORCAL, Sanitary Fill, in South San Francisco, 1993
Costa Rica Museum of Art and Design Permanent Collection of “Mermaid” stitched mesh sculpture with slide projections
NORCAL Company in San Francisco, CA, permanent collection – Four enamel and mixed media canvases with oil painting including “Wet Nurse,” “Madonna’s Heartbeat,” “Accident,” and “Explorer.”
Select Group Exhibitions
The Surrealist Show, Bucheon Gallery, San Francisco, Aug. 19- Sept 15, 1994
Uncommon Flower, Palo Alto Cultural Center, Palo Alto, Ca.1993 San Francisco Museum of Art
Women and the Body, WCA exhibition juried by Kiki Smith, Works Gallery, San Jose, April 1993
1993 Kingsley Crocker Exhibition 1993, Crocker Museum of Art, Sacramento, Ca.
Addressing Images, San Jose Art League, San Jose, CA 1991
Art Is…Santa Cruz Art Museum, Santa Cruz, Ca. Sept. 15 – Oct. 30, 1994
Arts Council Fellowship Award Finalist Exhibition, San Jose Art League, CA 1992
Kingsley Crocker Museum Exhibition 1992, Sacramento, CA
Living in Balance, Richmond Art Center, 1994
Matrix Gallery’s Annual National Competition and Exhibition, Matrix Gallery, Sacramento, Ca.
Matrix Gallery’s Fifth Annual National Competition, Awarded Honorary Mention, Sacramento,Ca.
New Talent, Katherina Rich Perlow Gallery Exhibition, New York, NY 1992 Women Artists 1992
Partnership, Palo Alto arts Center, 1992
Poets and Artists Project, Palo Alto Art Center 1990
Portraits of Women, Seip Gallery, Palo Alto, CA 1990
San Diego Art Institute 37th National Juried Art Exhibition, San Diego, CA 1991
Images of Men by Women Artists, Pie Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 1989
Gallery Artists Curated by Rolando Castellon, San Francisco, CA, 1988
Hof Film Festival, presentation of “The Flock,” West Germany, 1985
Oregon Museum of Art, Survey of Northwest Artists, Portland, Ore. 1983