Ever Green Art at Atlas in Downtown Oakland

Atlas is thrilled to join the Public Art Ordinance and acclaimed artist Taraneh Hemami in supporting a major new public art piece in downtown Oakland. Located at Atlas’ new high-rise tower at the corner of 13th and Franklin Street, Ever Green is a 24-foot oak tree crafted of stainless steel and shimmering surfaces of iridescent, green glass.

“An emblem of strength, endurance and survival, oak is seen as a witness to history and changing times, offering shelter and protection, symbolizing knowledge, and wisdom. Using similar material to the building it adorns, the tree invites the passerby under its multiple canopies referencing the coming together of the many diverse communities that claim Oakland as home.” - Taraneh Hemami

Selected by Carmel Partners and representatives from Oakland’s Chinatown and Black Arts Movement and Business District, Hemami is renowned for her installations that intermingle with the public spaces they occupy. Reflecting light and casting shadow onto pavement and passers-by below, her mirrored Ever Green oak does just that, a unifying symbol across Oakland’s diverse cultural and historic districts. Tessellated surfaces and steel serve both as a challenge and a nod to the towers of downtown Oakland, injecting a burst of beauty borne from similarly resilient industrial materials.

Created in 1989, the Oakland Public Art Ordinance works to enhance Oakland's visual environment and public spaces by collaborating with and supporting local artists, commissioning works that honor and reflect the city’s diverse cultural heritage and history. Ever Green is one of the first major public art projects contributed by a building (Atlas apartments) in Oakland. The project was also done in collaboration with Art Source Inc. and Gizmo Art Production.