“ COALESCENCE ” New York-based multidisciplinary artist Beau Stanton , a graduate of LCAD , installed this 14- by 20-foot inlaid ceramic and porcelain mosaic in fall 2023 . Commissioned by the city of Laguna Beach , the work is composed of 3,659 hand-drawn pieces as well as thousands more square tesserae — all hand cut — and covers the entire surface of a pedestrian bridge connecting Laguna Canyon Road with a nearby frontage |
road , just past Sawdust Art Festival . “ This work celebrates the unique natural character of Laguna : the meeting of the ocean and canyon environments represented by the threatened local Dudleya succulent blossoming from a nautilus shell cornucopia ,” explains Stanton , whose other work has been installed in a variety of unique places including on the Berlin Wall , a 13th century crypt and electronic billboards in New York ’ s Times Square . |
“ BEAR NAMED PA ’ U ” Several murals add creative touches to The Hive shopping center in Laguna Canyon . Among them is “ Bear Name Pa ’ u ” by artist Chad Hasegawa , who is based in San Francisco , but was born and raised in Hawaii . Hasegawa unveiled his black-and-gray-toned bear mural back in May 2018 . This was among several murals curated by Artists Republic 4 Tomorrow gallery , art consultant Ben Rubin and The Hive ’ s owners for their Summer of Color project at the center ; Artists Republic has since closed its Laguna gallery and reopened as East in North Carolina . “ The bear was named after my cousin , Lee ,” Hasegawa says . “ He is a bit of a protector type of person and he takes care of a lot of people with special needs and he would bring them there to hang out with the mural . I believe [ The Hive ] … was a perfect location for the bear . It was in the back , hidden , hiding in safety so it can exist for a very long time .” |
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT : PAUL STANTON ; COURTESY OF CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH ; CHAD HASEGAWA |
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