Stations on the Metro Orange Line Extension include 25 new artworks that enrich the transit environment and contribute to the artistic vibrancy of the neighborhoods served by Metro in the west San Fernando Valley.
One artist was commissioned to create original artwork for each of the five new stations. Porcelain enamel steel art panels featuring designs by the artists are displayed above the seating areas, and stone and glass mosaic paved ellipses are located on station platforms.
There are 2-4 art panels and 1-2 ellipses per station, depending on station configuration. The art panels and ellipses are paired to create strong visual identifiers for each platform. Each artist's design connects the station to the surrounding location with references to the natural environment, local agricultural heritage, horsekeeping culture, and abstractions of light.
Additionally, the 20-foot long art panels and 27-foot long ellipses define the space at a scale that is intended to create a positive and welcoming environment for transit users. The ellipse shape echoes the design feature in the original Orange Line stations to provide visual continuity throughout the expanded alignment.
"The station artwork brightens a largely industrial stretch of the San Fernando Valley," said Jorge Pardo, Director of Art & Design for Metro Creative Services. "We're presenting a string of mosaic pavings coupled with porcelain enamel art panels, that together offer real and imagined scenes referencing Valley life."
Durable materials ensure the artwork is resistant to graffiti and color fading, and is easy to maintain. Fabrication materials include glass mosaic, stone mosaic and porcelain enamel steel. Artworks by the following artists, all from Los Angeles County, are listed in station order from south to north:
Canoga Station: Ken Gonzales-Day, Western Imaginary
Photographs recall panoramic views of the surrounding mountains, depicting them as ideal, imagined landscapes tinged with cowboy nostalgia. Mosaic paving patterns present kaleidoscopic views of native manzanita and oak trees, inviting passengers to find shapes and faces hidden within the natural patterns. (Canoga Station includes 4 art panels & 2 ellipses.)
Sherman Way Station: Margaret Lazzari, Owensmouth/Canoga Park
Mosaic pavings depict maps of the L.A. River in the Owensmouth area as it existed in 1910, and the same section forty years later in the area renamed Canoga Park. A collection of native plants that thrived on sandy river banks bloom on one art panel, while the other presents lush, green, imported fruit trees, heavy with oranges, lemons, and peaches. (Sherman Way Station includes 4 art panels & 2 ellipses.)
Roscoe Station: Sam Erenberg, Liquid Light: Flowing into the Future
Bright streams of color generated by traffic lights and illuminated signs on major thoroughfares create a sense of forward motion on the art panels and mosaic pavers. The images capture the feeling of rapid travel through an impression of movement left behind as streaks of light. (Roscoe Station includes 3 art panels & 2 ellipses.)
Nordhoff Station: Anne Marie Karlsen, Strati
The artwork is inspired by the surrounding residential and natural landscape. Karlsen approached the station platform as an outdoor living room, creating wallpaper-like enamel steel art panels alongside the platform seating areas, and glass and stone mosaic paving patterns designed to read like cozy ellipse-shaped area rugs.
Inspired by this suburban community, the platform is conceived as an outdoor living room, with art panels mimicking textured wallpaper patterns and mosaic pavings representing elliptical area rugs. The imagery combines vintage wallpaper designs in the colors of sunset, sky, desert flowers and multicolored rocks, all arranged in stratified layers that echo the forms of nearby hills. (Nordhoff Station includes 3 art panels & 2 ellipses.)
Chatsworth Station: Lisa Adams, A Glimpse of Stoney Point Park
Hand-painted imagery featuring the region's well known landmark, Stoney Point, appears alongside native flowers, which appear to grow larger than life in front of the mountains. A mosaic paving depicts a galloping horse, conveying both speed and powerful motion while referring to the active equestrian community in Chatsworth. (Chatsworth Station includes 2 art panels & 1 ellipse.)
Metro Orange Line
The Metro Orange Line Extension stretches four miles north from Canoga Station to the Metrolink/Amtrak Chatsworth Station. This dedicated busway offers improvements to north-south mobility in the western San Fernando Valley by connecting activity centers along the corridor and the Metro Orange Line with Metrolink and Amtrak service. The Orange Line Extension offers faster travel times, improved bus connections, and better access to destinations throughout Los Angeles County.
Metro Art Program
From rail and bus stations to transit facilities, construction fences and poetry cards, Metro Art enriches the transit environment and contributes to the artistic vibrancy of the neighborhoods we serve. Metro commissions artists to create engaging artworks that make the journey more inviting and pleasurable for transit users. The artworks mirror Los Angeles County's rich contemporary and popular cultures.
Established in 1989, the Metro Art program has commissioned over 300 artists for a wide variety of temporary and permanent projects. Artists are selected through a peer review process with community input. All works are created specifically for their transit-related sites. Metro's public art policy allocates one half of one percent of project construction costs for art.
More information and free docent guided tours: visit metro.net/art or call 213/922-4ART
Artwork copyrighted, all rights reserved.
To request images of artwork for publication please email yamamotoz@metro.net.
Editors Note: "Metro" should be used when referring to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
