‘Temporary’ Public Art Seeks Another Six-Month Extension From SF

It’s been nearly a year since R-Evolution, Marco Cochrane’s 48-foot-tall metal sculpture of a nude woman, arrived at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza. Now the project is seeking approval from city agencies to extend the artwork’s temporary installation for another six months, until Oct. 5, 2026.

R-Evolution was originally approved for a period of six months to one year by the San Francisco Arts Commission, which oversees the city’s public art, and Recreation and Parks, which oversees Embarcadero Plaza. In September 2025, SF Standard reported that Recreation and Parks had officially extended the sculpture’s stay through March 2026.

Without another extension, the sculpture will be deinstalled by April 7, 2026.

The piece is part of the ever-growing Big Art Loop, an initiative funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation to place up to 100 pieces of temporary, large-scale public art around San Francisco. The project installed around 20 pieces of sculpture in city parks and along SF Port property in 2025.

A representative from Building 180, the agency that leads the project’s curation and operations, will make a presentation to the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Visual Arts Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

The six-month extension must be approved by the Visual Arts Committee, the full Arts Commission and then Recreation and Parks. Both the Feb. 18 Visual Arts Committee meeting and the full Arts Commission meeting on March 2 will provide opportunities for public comment on the proposal.

A spokesperson confirmed that Recreation and Parks does not incur any costs from the installation of R-Evolution.

In a presentation created by Building 180 and the Big Art Loop for next week’s meeting, R-Evolution is framed as a convenient placeholder until Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park renovations begin. Recreation and Parks currently lists that project’s construction start date as “TBD.”

Other arguments to extend the sculpture’s stay include a form of advertising for the Big Art Loop itself. “Extending the current installation sustains momentum while encouraging artists to submit proposals for future opportunities, rather than pausing activity at the site,” the presentation reads.

Surveys undertaken by Building 180 and the Big Art Loop show 85% of respondents support extending the artwork’s installation. The presentation does not detail how many people were surveyed.

The Visual Arts Committee meeting will take place Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. in City Hall’s room 416.