Creative expressions of connection and care are at the heart of Silver Linings, a new series by six local artists that debuted on Metro buses from December 2020-July 2021. Artists include Stephanie Mercado, Laura Vazquez Rodriguez, Phung Huynh, Chris Johanson, Alfonso Aceves and Kassia Rico.
Phung Huynh designed terrazzo paving areas and porcelain enamel steel panels for station platforms. The completed works display ‘lucky’ Chinese cherubs with California poppies, and Chinese cherub pilots in a surreal yet travel-friendly atmosphere of airplanes, birds and flying oranges.
The stylized treatment of forms and figures are inspired by Mexican and Chinese cut paper folk art traditions and Japanese woodblock prints, which were meant to honor farm workers.
“The astronaut rooster is a reminder that each dawn offers new possibilities, while the lotus flowering cactus symbolizes resilience, and that we can bloom where we are planted.”
Alhambra was the first city in California with an iron pipe irrigation system. The pipes frame the cultural icons and symbols of the city, including its founder, B.D. Wilson, and depict the community’s diversity, commerce and history.
