Take a walk down Broadway, past the new Art Hotel, and see if anything catches your eye. Artist Leo Villareal hopes his public art sculpture, created specifically for the hotel, will grab your attention. Situated just outside the main entrance, Villareal’s sculpture features a multitude of circular lights installed in the ceiling of the entrance’s overhang. The artwork lights up in different sequences, controlled by a computer software program created by Villareal, and can change based on the time of day.

The mastermind behind San Fransisco’s Bay Lights is combining art, light, and technology in a new way without using text or words in his pieces. Villareal is drawn to light, and the different layers and patterns he can create with this medium: “Light is seductive; people like to look at it,” he says, “I see my pieces as mirrors, inspired by kinetic energy with lots of movement.”

Slated to open later this summer, the Art Hotel features a variety of one-of-a-kind pieces just like Villareal’s, with each floor highlighting a different artist’s work. Find out what the Art Hotel is all about here.

The lights from Leo Villareal’s public art sculpture illuminate the sidewalk along Broadway
Leo Villareal’s light sculpture is installed above the main entrance of the Art Hotel
The exterior of the Art Hotel, which is slated to open in late summer
Deborah Butterfield’s “Otter” on display at the Art Hotel
Fire, the Art Hotel’s restaurant, offers floor-to-ceiling views of Broadway and the surrounding buildings

Sarah Banks
Sarah Banks
Sarah produces, photographs and researches the photography in the print edition of 5280. In addition, she photographs and writes for 5280.com.