West: Prospère Divinity
Six temporary large-scale sculptures by world-renowned Mexican artist Betsabeé Romero have reenergized the permanently car-free JFK Promenade. Located near the East entrance to the park beginning at the Yellow Dot.
Betsabeé Romero is a renowned Mexican artist specializing in sculptures and installations. Her art often incorporates everyday objects, particularly cars and car parts, transforming them with symbolic meaning. Romero’s work examines themes like migration, miscegenation, mobility, memory, and cultural identity.
- Refashioning the everyday: Romero is known for her artistic transformation of industrial objects, like car parts, with elements of ancient Indigenous and traditional Mexican art forms.
- Symbolic juxtapositions: Her art creates a dialogue between modern materials and traditional imagery, exploring the contradictions of contemporary life and global consumption.
- Themes of migration and memory: Romero’s work, such as carved tires or refashioned car parts, frequently address issues of human migration, forced movement, and borders, giving voice to the experiences of migrant workers.
- Public art installations: She has created impactful public art installations globally, including projects in cities like Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C.
The Betsabee Romero Collection on the Golden Mile, funded primarily through the Sijbrandij Foundation with additional support from other philanthropists, promotes sustainability. The sculptures are crafted from repurposed tires, paint, mirrors, metal, and wooden bases, combining urban materials with artistic vision to reflect themes of movement, transformation, and reclaiming public space.
About the Artist
Betsabeé Romero has had more than 100 solo exhibitions on 5 continents, including those at the British Museum, London, UK, 2015 – Grand Palais, Paris, France, 2019 – Royal Botanic Gardens KEW, London, UK, 2022 – New York Avenue, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, USA, 2018 – Place Vieille Bourse, Lille, France 2019 – Nevada Museum of Art Reno, Nevada, USA, 2014 – Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, N.Y., USA, 2011 – Nelson & Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, USA, 2012 – Canberra University Museum, Canberra, Australia, 2002 – La Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2019 – Mexico Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2021 – La Place du Louvre, Paris, France, 2021 In Mexico, the Mega Offering of the Zócalo in Mexico City, 2016 – Frida Kahlo Museum, Mexico City, 2013 and 2019 – Anahucalli Museum, Mexico City, 2015 – Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, Mexico City, 2014 – Amparo Museum, Puebla, 2008 – MARCO, Monterrey, 2009 – Carrillo Gil Museum, Mexico City, 1999
Website: https://www.betsabeeromero.com/
Instagram: @betsabee_romero
About the Partner
In 2024, the Big Art Loop began from an unconventional belief: Big Art can be a magnet to attract people, jobs and investments to a city.
After a decade of calling San Francisco home, Sid and Karen Sijbrandij, founders of The Sijbrandij Foundation, saw an opportunity. Through supporting artist residencies in Zambia, Uganda, and Grand Bahama, and founding Art City in New Mexico, they’ve seen how public art invites connection, creates civic pride and brings energy to communities. The Big Art Loop is their bold investment in San Francisco’s future.
Instagram: @bigartloop
Website: bigartloop.org