MICHAEL BROWN & DAVID COLE
COLLABORATIONS
(Work in progress) “Dandelions” Town Center Pathway Artwork – Lafayette, CA
15 large Dandelion seeds – hand-formed from perforated stainless steel – will be suspended above a new public plaza outside the BART station. The seeds will pivot and swing in response to the wind.
2021 “Solar Portals” – Richland, WA
This sculpture is a playful exploration of light, shadow, color and time. Through a variety of different, interactive portals, the sun and other optical phenomena create experiences that are playful, engaging and thought-provoking for students and adults alike.
2018 “Luminous Waveforms” – Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO
Suspended above the entrance to the CoorsTek Center for Applied Sciences and Engineering, this kinetic sculpture utilizes high-tech ceramic tiles with an innovative linkage to physically transform – via pulleys and motors – into various waveforms while LED’s create evolving patterns based on sine waves.
2015 “eTau Awards” – San Francisco, CA
Thirteen custom awards were created to honor a group of scientists who made groundbreaking discoveries of the mechanisms of Alzheimer’s.
2013 “Bicycle Trio” – Boise, ID
This "gateway artwork" consists of three sculptural bicycle forms that when ridden, power mechanical, musical instruments contained within the columns to invite spontaneous interactions between strangers through the expression of music and play.
2012 “Cleaning House” and “A Drop of Blood” – COCC, Bend, OR
The COCC Health Careers Center trains nurses, dental techs, massage therapists and other practitioners whose primary focus is to help keep people healthy. This suspended sculpture is a model of human red blood cells as they flow through capillaries while white blood cells are destroying invading bacteria.
2011 “Red Oak” – Princeton, NJ
This suspended, kinetic artwork was commissioned for the three-story atrium of an office building in Princeton.
2008 "Dust City Diner" – Black Rock Desert, NV
Interactive mobile diner with bee-hived waitresses serving grilled cheese sandwiches to the citizens of Burning Man, an outdoor arts festival. www.dustcitydiner.com
PRE-QUALIFIED POOLS (CURRENT):
San Francisco, CA
Alameda County, CA
Washington State
FINALIST:
2018 Monterey Bay Aquarium ($460K budget)
2015 Minneapolis Lighted Canopy ($200K budget)
2015 Bend Roundabout (semi-finalist, $135K budget)
2014 Cherryland Community Center ($18K “design only” budget) 2013 Oregon DOT Region 4 Campus
($53K budget)
GRANTS:
2018, 2016, 2013 – Burning Man Honoraria Selection – Dust City Diner
MICHAEL BROWN - SELECTED COMMISSIONS
2013 “Big Wood” – Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA - A 330-year-old Douglas fir tree and root ball sliced to reveal the science within.
2009 “Blue Rain” – London School of Economics, London, UK - LED sculpture. The Library of the London School of Economics.
2007 “Cloudburst” – Private Collection, San Francisco, CA - Movable light sculpture incorporating LED’s, blown glass and counterweights allow the elements in the sculpture to be repositioned and arranged by the viewer.
2004 “Birds of Prey” – Bay Area Discovery Museum, Sausalito, CA - Life-size cutouts of migratory birds with multiple holes in the wings to help distinguish the patterns birdwatchers commonly use to identify each species.
2004 “Ghost Horse” – Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA - Light Emitting Diodes aimed at each mirror are flashed in the correct sequence, reflecting the image of the galloping horse onto a frosted glass face of the bell jar.
RESIDENCES, GRANTS AND AWARDS
Artist-In-Residence; The Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA
Grand Prize Muybridge inspired artwork; NPR and Corcoran Gallery, Washington DC
Artist-In-Residence; Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA
Cultural Equity Grant; San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco, CA
EDUCATION
1982-1985 Bachelor of Arts, Theater Arts – Film Humboldt State University – Arcata, CA
DAVID COLE - PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1994 – present Principal - Svartvik Metalworks, Ltd. – Oakland, CA
Designs and creates fine jewelry, art and architectural details. Primary client is Stanford University for which he creates metalwork for their historical buildings.
2005 – present Senior Adjunct Professor – California College of the Arts – Oakland, CA Teaches classes within Jewelry/Metal-Arts and Craft programs.
2017 – present Instructor – Autodesk Global Technology Center – San Francisco, CA Teaches machining, welding and metal manufacturing at the Pier 9 facility.
CURATORIAL + SCHOLARSHIP
2012 Principal Photographer - Jewelry and Metalwork of Marie Zimmermann by Yale University Press
2014 & 2019 San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design – San Francisco, CA
Exhibition designer - Metamorphosis: the transformation of everyday objects. Dead Nuts: a search for the
ultimate machined object.
EDUCATION
1991-1993 Master of Fine Arts, Metalsmithing Cranbrook Academy of Art – Bloomfield Hills, MI
1986-1990 Bachelor of Arts, Government (Modified with Religion) Dartmouth College – Hanover, NH