Client: BioMarin
Location: San Rafael, CA, United States
Completion date: 2018
Artwork budget: $75,000
Project Team
Artist
Gordon A Huether
Gordon Huether Studio
Client
BioMarin Pharmaceutical
BioMarin Pharmaceutical
Overview
The sculpture, entitled Trees of Life, is comprised of 9 Corten steel water jet cut “trees,” each with a dimension of 4’H X 5’L, for an installation spanning over 46 feet. The “trees” are adorned with decorative locks placed on the tree “branches, honoring the patients who have been affected by any form of Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS), phenylketonuria (PKU) or Batten disease, or those who have made a significant impact on the development and advancement of the bringing the disease’s therapies to market.
Goals
For the San Rafael campus, Gordon was commissioned to create an artwork that was inspired by one of BioMarin’s patients, Isabel Bueso. Isabel was inspired by the Pont des Arts in Paris, where generations of couples have left behind inscribed locks to declare their love for one another. Isobel wanted to create a place for a similar gesture that would symbolize the relationship between the staff of BioMarin and their commitment to their patients. Gordon embraced Isabel’s concept and created this installation.
Process
BioMarin, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in San Rafael, CA, is at the forefront of providing innovative therapeutics to patients with serious unmet medical needs and rare diseases. Gordon was first commissioned by BioMarin in 2005 for an exterior entry way and wayfinding sculpture.