Artist John Wehrle chosen for
West Berkeley transit plaza public art project

By Globe Staff

Berkeley’s Civic Arts Public Art Program has chosen John Wehrle as the artist for the West Berkeley rail stop and transit plaza project.
    Wehrle is a noted muralist, and his murals can be seen throughout the Bay Area and around Los Angeles.

    The West Berkeley rail stop is located adjacent to the Fourth St. commercial district. The site is under the overpass on University Ave. between Fourth and Third streets.
    Wehrle’s proposal is to unify the space under the University Ave. overpass by combining painting and poetry. He will paint the seventeen columns in the parking area leading to the train stop and create a mural on the east wall. A poem by Betsy Davids will be written on the concrete beams above the columns, which according to Wehrle, “refers to a journey, departing and arriving.”
   As stated in the original call for artists, the project aspires to create a welcoming entrance to the West Berkeley rail stop and to enhance the commercial and new residential development in the vicinity. The call for artists was sent out last spring, with seventeen applicants responding.
    For more information visit www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/civicarts/publicart.htm, or contact Mary Ann Merker, civic arts coordinator, at (510) 981-7533.