OAKLAND, CA.- Later this month, arriving passengers will come through gates 29–32 in the new Terminal 2 concourse at Oakland International Airport (OAK). Welcoming them will be the first major public art installation under the Port of Oakland’s landmark public art policy.

Going Away, Coming Home (2006), by critically acclaimed Oakland artist Hung Liu, is the first of four site-specific commissions included in the Port of Oakland’s Terminal 2 Improvement Program. The artwork comprises 64 panels of glass windows that span 160 feet along the transit corridor leading to the new gates. Going Away, Coming Home marks the first time that Liu has worked on glass, a medium that allows her signature “drip” painting style to boldly characterize the 80 red-crowned cranes she hand-painted onto the panels.

As with all Liu’s art, Going Away, Coming Home incorporates many symbols from the artist’s native China. Traditionally an Asian icon of longevity and good fortune, the red-crowned cranes were selected by the artist specifically as symbols of blessing and safe travel—the color red itself is considered in China to bring good luck—as well as for their heaven-ward motion. Liu explains, “For me, the birds embody the beautiful. They encourage us to get rid of our burdens, find victory over what ties us down, defy gravity, and feel the freedom of flight.” Marrying ancient Chinese imagery with 21st-century technology, the cranes appear to soar above satellite photo images of the West Coast and the Pacific Rim that have been sand-blasted, enameled and fired into a second layer of glass panels, which lends the installation tremendous depth and dramatic impact.

Liu’s site-specific work is the first to be unveiled under the Port of Oakland’s Public Art Ordinance of 2002. This innovative policy was the first in the country to bring together three different revenue divisions under one umbrella and makes public art a requirement for all major construction projects and for private development on land purchased or leased from the Port. A total of $1.2 million is earmarked for the public art component of the OAK Terminal 2 Improvement Program. The Oakland Museum of California implements and oversees this public art program and administers OAK’s airport exhibition program on behalf of the Port.

“The millions of passengers who travel through Oakland International Airport annually will have the opportunity to view and appreciate this impressive new work,” says Port of Oakland Commissioner and First Vice President Darlene Ayers-Johnson, who also serves on the Port’s public art committee. “This far-reaching public art program underscores the Port’s commitment to promoting local artists of exemplary talent and to helping bridge global cultures.”

Lori Fogarty, executive director of the Oakland Museum of California, adds, “The breathtaking artistry of Liu’s work is an auspicious start to the Port’s generous commissioning program. All of the Bay Area artists selected for the OAK project are of the highest caliber, and we are both proud and excited to play a central role in making such innovative and exciting art available to the public outside the museum’s walls.”