clients & public art collections

municipalities:

transit authorities:

development companies:

  • gpi companies
  • greystar
  • hanover company

merge have demonstrated the exemplary talent to bring together under one umbrella: art, architecture and consideration to community context. their public art projects are underscored by a commitment to their creation of more comfortable visual environments, promotion of local neighborhoods and bridging of cultural differences.

susan gray

creative services manager, los angeles county metropolitan transportation authority

merge has exceeded our expectations by providing a memorable identity to the metro blue line willow station that is perfectly linked to the specific site, while providing shade and seating relief to our customers.

for metro, merge infused color, life and sophistication to the cal state la and the la county+usc medical center stations and accompanying pedestrian bridges spanning interstate 10 as part of the modernization efforts for the el monte transit way.

on all three projects claudia and franka provided outstanding artistic concepts that were keenly in tune for their locations, overcame difficulties and the complexities of working in the transit system to produce high quality customer environments within time and budget.

jorge pardo

director of art & design, los angeles county metropolitan transportation authority

a simple “thank you” would never be adequate in expressing the gratitude from the citizens impacted by the BRT stops. it has always been an idea that these BRT stops not just be a “typical urban bus stop.” we always envisioned they would be a destination reflective of our neighborhood identities. the commissioned artists, claudia and franka, heard us, and worked with us. ultimately the art and the colors of the stations were planned with us. we feel that the level of success is far beyond our original expectation.

the BRT stops would never have been as beautiful as we now know they will be. what we have now is a combination of great design representing many histories of this community. we expect this work will create much interest locally and beyond. the entire process from beginning to where we are today, brought us closer together as a community and it was interesting, educational, exciting, and fun.

helen & danny garza

president & director at large, plata arroyo neighborhood association; excerpts from a letter to the vta board

i was impressed with the ability of franka and claudia to come up with an interesting, integrated public art concept for our development even though the building was already under construction when they were hired. they had to work with many building design constraints and a very tight schedule and budget.

another challenge in this project was that they had to work with our sub-contractors, who had not previously worked with public artists to execute the artwork. franka and claudia developed practical construction details, communicated their ideas in construction meetings and negotiated solutions without losing sight of their artistic intent. they were a pleasure to work with and very professional in their approach to the project and the artwork.

eric e kenney

development partner – san diego & phoenix, hanover company

after twenty-eight years as a public art advisor i can safely say that it is not often one comes across an artistic team that incorporates all the talents necessary for the creation of outstanding, meaningful public art projects: that rare combination of artistic talent and vision; understanding of architecture, engineering and construction; and sociology, urban planning, community development insight. their training as architects offers the base for thorough, budget conscious, collaborative, professional and businesslike approach to their projects and clients.

their background as artists infuses the process with an artist’s awareness of creative possibilities, resulting in versatile, site-responsive, exciting, beautiful and deeply intelligent work.

beatrix barker

principal consultant, barker + associates public art advisory

dear claudia and franka,

working with your team was a pleasure. it is always comfortable to find artists with such attention to detail, creativity and problem-solving skills packaged with such nice personalities.

fun work. we are happy to have you in our collection.

sincerely,

rochelle branch

public art program manager, city of pasadena, california

there are many things to appreciate about working with merge conceptual design – their keen and creative design sense, ability and willingness to collaborate with community in engaging and interesting ways, their attention to detail in how things are made and maintained, and their curiosity about finding the right material for the project. yet one of the things i’ve appreciated the most is their willingness to stick with something to get it right – which can mean compromise, it can mean going back to the drawing board, further engagement with community and stakeholders – or holding a fabricator accountable. i don’t hesitate to recommend them, though fair warning about their wry senses of humor.
jennifer easton

art program manager, bay area rapid transit (bart)