The time is fast approaching for the infamous 45-foot nude woman to leave her post at SF’s Embarcadero Plaza, as the 32,000-pound art piece has been put up for sale and will be disassembled in October.
R-Evolution, the 45-foot nude sculpture that has loomed over Embarcadero Plaza since April 2025, has been put up for sale or lease ahead of its scheduled removal in October, as SFGate reports. The steel-and-mesh work by Northern California artist Marco Cochrane was slated to be removed this April, but the San Francisco Arts Commission voted earlier this year to extend its stay through the fall.
As SFist reported previously, the sculpture, originally created for Burning Man in 2015, made stops in Petaluma, Miami Beach, and Las Vegas before landing in San Francisco. The sculpture was originally intended for installation in Union Square, which fell through over concerns about its size and weight.
Sponsored by the Sijbrandij Foundation and produced by Building 180 as part of the Big Art Loop initiative, the installation reportedly cost about $300,000 to bring to the waterfront.
Since its unveiling, R-Evolution has sparked an ongoing debate over everything from artistic merit and public input to whether privately funded organizations should have so much influence over what appears in San Francisco's civic spaces.
As KQED and Frieze have reported, critics of the Big Art Loop initiative argue that privately funded projects are increasingly driving decisions about public art, while many local artists, particularly those from underrepresented communities, continue to struggle for visibility and support.
Supporters of Big Art Loop contend that the program has succeeded in activating public spaces and bringing new audiences to contemporary art.
Based on Cochrane's published specifications, relocating R-Evolution is no small task: the sculpture arrives in seven pieces that are bolted together on-site and requires a crane and heavy equipment to install. The sculpture and its anchoring system weigh roughly 32,000 pounds combined.
According to SFGate, other temporary Big Art Loop installations have also been sold to private buyers, including Steelhead on the Embarcadero and The Giraffes at Sunset Dunes.
As previously reported, Embarcadero Plaza is about to get a $40 million makeover, along with the adjacent Sue Bierman Park, half of which is being funded by local billionaires. Additionally, another highly debated sculpture at the Embarcadero, the Vaillancourt Fountain, was removed last month.
Previously: 45-Foot Statue of Nude Woman Not Coming to Union Square After All, But Might End Up at Embarcadero Plaza
Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist
