A 45-foot metal sculpture of a nude woman that has towered over San Francisco's Embarcadero Plaza, across from the Ferry Building, is reportedly being removed next week, according to KRON4. The piece, created by artist Marco Cochrane and originally built for the 2015 Burning Man festival, has had a bumpy public life since it first landed in the city.
The sculpture, titled R-Evolution, was unveiled at Embarcadero Plaza on April 10, 2025, according to KQED. It was built on Treasure Island and debuted at Burning Man a decade earlier, part of a trio of monumental works Cochrane made featuring singer and dancer Deja Solis, who modeled for the piece and, per the Smithsonian American Art Museum, chose her own pose and expression for each sculpture in the series.
R-Evolution was never supposed to end up at the Embarcadero in the first place. KQED reported it was originally meant for a temporary installation at Union Square, but engineers determined the 32,000-pound sculpture was too heavy for the plaza tiles and the garage underneath. KRON4's report adds that Union Square park officials cited unforeseen engineering complexities as the reason for the relocation, while the sculpture's run at Embarcadero Plaza was designed to last at least six months, and possibly a full year, according to the same KQED account.
From Contested Debut to Quiet Departure
Getting the sculpture installed at all required a close vote: the San Francisco Arts Commission approved the Embarcadero Plaza placement by an 11-to-1 margin, per KQED's reporting. Once up, the piece was lit nightly from sunset until 11 p.m. and again at sunrise, according to Cochrane's own website, which also lists R-Evolution as currently available for sale or lease — though no buyer, lessee, price, or lease terms have been confirmed.
KRON4 reports the sculpture stood over the plaza for 18 months and was renamed from R-Evolution to I Am during its run on the waterfront.
Part of a Much Bigger Art Push
Whatever happens to the individual sculpture, it has been tied to a much larger undertaking. Big Art Loop, the privately funded public art initiative behind the piece's presence on the waterfront, is aiming to install up to 100 large-scale sculptures across San Francisco over three years, according to the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. As of May 2026, the project's trail featured 23 sculptures and had drawn more than $2 million in investment during its first year, the department said.
The initiative, founded and funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation with production and operations led by Building 180, also partnered with the Port of San Francisco to launch Big Art Loop–Portside, adding ten temporary sculptures along the waterfront ranging from 12 to 55 feet tall, according to the Port of San Francisco. The full route is envisioned as a 34-mile walkable and bikeable art trail threading through the city. Big Art Loop has said every installation goes through established public review and approval processes, according to its own website.
For now, the fate of the individual sculpture that stood at Embarcadero Plaza remains tied to those broader plans, even as its exact next stop is unclear. What is certain is that its run along San Francisco's waterfront drew attention from the moment the Arts Commission signed off on it, through a rejected Union Square debut and into whatever comes next for one of Cochrane's best-known large-scale works.
