Heroes&Hearts Hearts After Dark
Benefiting San Francisco General Hospital Foundation
San Francisco General Hospital Foundation Reveals 25 New Heart Designs for the 2015 ‘Hearts in San Francisco’ Series
Sales of the hearts to raise much-needed funds for vital initiatives at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
SAN FRANCISCO (December 4, 2014) — San Francisco General Hospital Foundation (the Foundation) announced today that it will debut the brand new artworks of the ‘Hearts in San Francisco’ series at the tenth annual Heroes & Hearts Luncheon and Hearts After Dark on Thursday February 12, 2015 on the field at AT&T Park. The 25 new hearts feature a variety of designs, ranging from reflective chrome, Swarovski crystals, wood panels, Polaroid photos, kaleidoscope-like shapes and more. The series includes nine large hearts, five table top hearts and 11 mini mosaic hearts. Each heart will be sold to raise funds to support vital programs and initiatives at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (The General). Hearts in San Francisco artworks combined with Heroes & Hearts and Hearts After Dark proceeds (2004 - 2014) have raised more than $11.5 million for The Foundation.
The unique heart sculptures, found throughout the city, have become iconic to San Francisco locals and tourists alike, serving as a reminder the vital role of The General. After the Hearts events, select large hearts may remain on display in San Francisco's Union Square. The artists selected for the 2015 series are Kristine Brandt, Beka Brayer, Tom Connelly, Sara Dykstra, Kristin Farr, Dora Aldworth Grinnell, Michael J. Kruzich, Laura Lineback, Mackiebuilder.com, Kristine Mays, Polaroid SF, Barbara Schlein, Swarovski Crystal and Jeffery Thompson. In addition, the eleven mini mosaic artists are Randina Casenza, Gina Dominguez, Elizabeth Grindon, Dmitry Grudsky, Sofia Harrison, Wenia Lee, Jill Stevenson Ritter, Karen Thompson, Joi Tripp, Ann Watters and Wesley Wong. Additional details about the mini-mosaic artists will be released at a later date. Images of the mini-mosaics are available here.
“As the Foundation prepares for the new hospital to open in December 2015, we are honored to have so many local artists and designers that have contributed their talent to help spread the word about The Heart of Our City,” says Schuyler Hudak, Co-Chair of Heroes & Hearts and Hearts After Dark. “The 10th anniversary of the luncheon will host the most diverse group of heart designs, which celebrate the uniqueness of our great city.”
The 2015 Heroes & Hearts Luncheon takes place on Thursday, February 12, 2015 at AT&T Park. Tickets for the event range in price from $300 for single seats to $5,000 for event sponsorship. To purchase tickets or to find out more about sponsorship, call 415-206-4478 or visit sfghf.org/events/heroes- hearts/tickets/. For more information about Hearts After Dark, visit: sfghf.org/events/hearts-after-dark/
Event sponsors include Kaiser Permanente, Webcor Builders, Wells Fargo, McKesson Foundation, PG&E, The Stanley S. Langendorf Foundation, UnitedHealth Group, VISA, Macy’s, The Mary Wohlford Foundation, Jeanne and Sanford Robertson and Walgreens. Media sponsors include 7x7, JC Decaux, KCBS All News 740 AM and 106.9 FM, NBC Bay Area, San Francisco Business Times, San Francisco Chronicle|SFGate.com and Where magazine.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Large Hearts (5’ tall x 5’9” wide x 3’3” deep)
MICHAEL J. KRUZICH— Michael was trained at the renowned Mosaic Art School in Ravenna, Italy by Maestra Luciana Notturni and her colleagues. He maintains a professional studio practice in San Francisco called MKMosaics, producing fine art mosaics and commissions for private and commercial clients. His piece, “Still Beating!” features an image of a heart-rate monitor that creates the outline of the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge. Each tessera, a mixture of Natural Stone, Italian Smalti (glass), 24-k Gold (glass) and Swaravski Crystals, is cut by hand and laid one-by-one. There are over 54,500 tesserae in the entire sculptural mosaic and collectively represents more than 930 hours of work in the span of 3 months.
'Still Beating!' Slideshow
I requested to thank many people in the press release however apparently there was not the space to do so. I would like to here thank my die-hard assistants and colleagues during the final two weeks from left to right; Eric Arndorfer, James V. Henry, and Liz Williams! Also Escott Jones and my distributors diMosaico and Marc Stellon. I absolutely would not have been able to achieve this without their generous support, assistance and encouragement!
Michael J. Kruzich
About San Francisco General Hospital Foundation
San Francisco General Hospital Foundation (the Foundation) is an independent not-for-profit corporation 501(c)(3) that provides fundraising support to San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (The General). The Foundation is dedicated to promoting excellence in research, education and care for all at The General. Funds raised by the Foundation allow The General to continue its long history of providing quality health care to San Francisco and the Greater Bay Area. Some of the programs funded wholly or in part by the Foundation include the Avon Comprehensive Breast Care Center, the Children’s Health Center, the Acute Care for Elders (ACE Unit, Cancer Awareness Resources Education (C.A.R.E.), the Bay Area Perinatal AIDS Center (BAPAC) and the Orthopedic Trauma Institute. For more information, please visit www.sfghf.org.
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