| Artist: | Michael Amescua |
| Title: | Tree of Life |
| Date: | 2002 |
| District: | Fifth Supervisorial District |
| Location: | Chatsworth Courthouse 9425 Penfield Avenue Chatsworth, CA 91311 |
| Architect: | Mosakowski, Lindsey & Associates |
| Department: | Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles |
Located in northern San Fernando Valley, the Chatsworth Courthouse of
the Los Angeles Superior Court opened in May 2002. Michael Amescua is
one of two artists who created civic art pilot projects for the site.
Amescua’s majestic Tree of Life is a twenty-foot tall stainless
steel sculpture situated on the exterior of the courthouse where it is
enjoyed by passersby as well as by jurors in the jury assembly room.
Tree of Life is comprised of ten large decorative medallions which radiate in four directions from a central post; each medallion depicts familiar California flora such as oak, palm and bird of paradise. The intricacy of Amescua’s design lends the sculpture an almost kinetic quality as sunlight and shadows pierce through the open work of the steel.
See Michael Amescua, East Los Angeles Civic Center
About the Artist: Michael Amescua is an artist whose practice is based in East Los Angeles. Amescua has executed many public art projects in the Southern California region at varied locations including the MTA Gateway Transit Center in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles International Airport, Paseo Colorado in Pasadena, the Los Angeles Zoo, McCambridge Park in Burbank, Montebello Transit Center, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Amescua holds a BA from Occidental College.