December 9, 2025
By Aly Lande, Capital Project Marketing Specialist
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), with more than 50 million passengers per year, is one of the biggest Public Art collections in the Pacific Northwest. Add some beauty to your visit to SEA by taking a moment to stop and notice all the installations — the famous SEA magician in “High Wire” (A Concourse), a driftwood unique cast bronze sculpture called “Blackleaf” (N Concourse), or “Kéet,” cast in glass (International Arrivals Facility), that combines Native American culture with European glass techniques by Preston Singletary.
If you’re an art lover, 2025 was a banner year, with remarkable additions of public art at maritime facilities and SEA Airport. This year has brought a new wave of creative media spanning curb to gate, glass to metal, black and white to rainbow explosions of color. With one percent of every capital project’s budget dedicated to art, five major Upgrade SEA projects in 2025 brought new art to the airport. Whether you’re coming or going, you’ll come across at least one of these new masterpieces. And the work isn’t done yet!
Curbside Safety and Accessibility Project
As you cross Skybridge 1 at the south end of parking garage, you’ve likely seen the lipstick toppers for the bollards. In early 2025, Skybridge 6 also got a bollard upgrade. Nothing says welcome to the Pacific Northwest better than mountains and hiking trails. The stainless steel bollards feature mini-Mt. Rainier replicas that sit atop and a path of the Wonderland Trail on the others. Take a sensory journey by following the crevices to the peak, or adventure beyond with the etched-in, winding route that encircles Mt. Rainier. These bollards were designed and made possible by artists, Kyle Olson and Sandra Williams.
Restroom Renovation Project
It’s just a bathroom … right?! Wrong! These restrooms didn’t just get a functional improvement, but also a glow up. The Restroom Renovation project opened three improved restrooms this year with beautiful new installations.
Einar and Jamex de la Torre are a powerhouse brother duo. They were born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and moved to California in the early 1970s. They cross media and defy limitations, working with glass, resin, lenticular, and more. Some of their most notable work includes mixed media lenticulars which is a unique medium using lenticular lenses to create the illusion of depth and motion. The restroom by Gate D11 on the D Concourse brings to life five different lenticulars, creating a world of whacky wonder with motion that shifts your perspective. These colorful creations capture iconic landmarks in the Seattle and Tacoma regions, mixing bright colors and diverse landscapes with northwest flare. If you stare at them long enough, you’ll still find a new favorite hidden gem inside them.
On the C Concourse by Gate C16, Elyse Pignolet created ceramic mural masterpieces. 
A visual artist from Los Angeles, California, Pignolet combines ceramic techniques with social and political commentary. At first glance, the hand-painted tiles display the region’s outdoor beauty in different seasons with mountain ranges, roadways, landscapes, and waterscapes. This scenery is disrupted by not-so-hidden messages written within the tiles, challenging human and nature, human nature. See them for yourself next time you’re at the end of the C Concourse and need a restroom break!
The final restroom opening came this past summer, wrapping up the Restroom Renovation project. The D1 restroom located on the D Concourse had multiple media for artist power couple, Jeremy Bert and Jen Elek. They created not just the neon art piece that adorns the entry to this restroom, but also the Pet Relief area art and four glass cases inside the Nursing Room. Jeremy Bert works mostly with electric light, neon, and manipulated reclaimed signage, while partner Jen Elek is a studio artist, glassblower, and educator, both based out of Seattle. The neon work out front, “The Illuminated Palouse,” is a vivacious burst of color outlining different animals native to the Palouse region that wraps around the corner with a gorgeous glow. The Pet Relief Area displays a wiener dog chasing its tail with a bronze log below, inlaid with different colored glass rondels.
Checkpoint 1 Relocation Project
Part of this project was to replace the old Bag Carousel 1 with a new checkpoint down on the Baggage Claim Level. That left blank wall space on the backside of the new checkpoint next to Bag Carousel 2, and just enough room for a salon-style wall that stretches more than 30 feet and has over 20 individual pieces of work. The pieces are made of materials ranging from wood, glass, textiles, and more. Each one tells a different story, uses various methods, and speaks to a diverse audience. This eclectic wall offers an engaging experience welcoming travelers to Seattle.
The south side glass case acts as another wall to the new Checkpoint 1 and is filled with flamboyant characters, mysterious shapes, and refine objects. It is a see-through gallery and no matter which side you’re on, you’ll find a new favorite piece every time.
SEA Gateway Project
“On a Clear Day You Can See Forever” by Sarah More
This mosaic tile piece colorfully quilts an otherwise industrial baggage enclosure in the Alaska Airlines Ticketing Lobby and check-in area. Inspired at a young age by her mother’s quilts, artist, Sarah More, pays homage to the city of Seattle, weaving in patterns of shooting stars, a mariner’s compass, and the Seattle’s official flower, the dahlia.
“Raindrops on Roses” and “Souvenirs” by Julie Alpert
If you’re on the Baggage Claim Level near Bag Carousel 13 or 16, don’t forget to look up. These acrylic on maple plywood pieces POP with unique shapes and bold colors that almost leap off the wall. The mix of the colors and shapes has you wanting to grab them straight off the wall and sticker your Pee-Chee with this 90s nostalgia.
“Cosmic” by Jennifer Steinkamp
If entering on the north end of the Ticketing Level for Alaska Airlines, and let’s be honest, 90% of people are (just check the traffic), you’re greeted by a monumental overhead screen filled with an apple orchard in motion. This digital display has endless variations of Washington’s favorite fruit, slowly bouncing around within the confines of this 60-foot screen.
Photography by Spike Mafford and Nikita Mehta
Backlit black and white photography faces you the moment you enter the restroom doors. These men’s and women’s restrooms between checkpoints 5 and 6 are the newest in the airport, make sure to check them out! These beautiful landscape photos show off snowy peaks, foggy forests, and sunlit scenes.
“Rain Shadow” by Soo Sunny Park
This suspended art piece is made of stainless-steel mesh, layered with hundreds of acrylic tiles in translucent colors. As light hits the translucent pieces, it comes to life! The colors create waves hanging above the newly opened recompose area at the end of Checkpoint 6 on the far north end of the airport.
Glass wall art by Morgan Madison
This Seattle-based artist is in the process of installing his kiln formed glasswork consisting of 13 unique compositions, each representing a distinct Pacific Northwest ecosystem for the north end of the Bridge Level. The artworks tell a story of rich interconnection, narrating how the diversity of flora and fauna, geology and humanity unite to form this special region known as Cascadia.
The year isn’t quite over yet, and the SEA Gateway Project still has three more installations happening before the year’s end.
“Jonah” by Matthew Szösz
Located on Skybridge 5, two prismatic walls made up of roughly 500 triangular panels of semi-reflective dichroic glass will line both sides of the walkway between Bag Claims 14 and 15.
“Horizon” by Barry Johnson
Located on the far north end of the Alaska Ticketing Lobby, this baggage enclosure wrap will feature cast metal figures sitting in space hugging the walls and will wrap around the corners.
Roadway Improvements
“Migration” by Ed Marquand and Angelina Villalobos
So, not quite this year, but coming in early 2026 is the installation of a giant moving mosaic glass piece that will greet you as you enter the airport. It will be affixed to the new retaining wall along the upper Departures Drive as you round the corner to get curbside. The colors encapsulate the PNW as the movement sways and drifts along the wall like tides and currents. This is a beautiful collaboration between Ed Marquand and his studio, Tieton Mosaic, along with Angelina Villalobos.
This only represents a portion of what the Public Art team has installed for capital projects, you’ll come across all sorts of displays around every corner at the airport. And if you catch yourself on the Baggage Claim Level, there’s lots of new art in display cases throughout. There’s so much more in store for 2026, and so much to look forward to. Look for another major piece for the Roadway Improvements project in early summer, bringing international flare and more inspired art as part of the C Concourse Expansion project. Plus, you never know where even more art might pop up!
As we wrap up another year of major Public Art installations and look back at 2025, we take a moment to appreciate the hard work the Port’s Public Art Program team has dedicated to acquiring and placing all these incredible pieces. And the partnerships they have continued to grow with not only local artists, but artists across the country, and even the globe. Can’t wait to see what’s next!
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