Rick Bulan

Artist Statement

I am a San Francisco native and have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area my entire life. For the past twenty years, I have lived as a Coastsider in Moss Beach, commuting to my metal shop in San Francisco. This movement between the Pacific coastline and the city’s industrial landscape has shaped my perspective and grounded my work in a strong sense of place.

For more than three decades, my practice has focused on transforming materials marked by time and labor without erasing their history. I am best known for creating furniture, art, and jewelry from original steel removed from the Golden Gate Bridge. The handrail steel I work with was milled during the Great Depression, installed in the 1930s, and removed in 1993 after decades of exposure to fog, wind, and salt air. Having grown up with the bridge as a constant presence, I approach this material with familiarity and reverence, preserving its patina, markings, and structural geometry.

My work exists at the intersection of sculpture and function. Tables and objects are designed to be useful while also inviting reflection. I often pair raw steel with glass or precious metals, creating contrast between weight and transparency, industry and refinement. Each piece is made by hand in San Francisco in small, limited editions.

At its core, my work is about continuity rather than nostalgia. By giving historic steel a second life, I explore themes of preservation, reuse, and place-based storytelling, transforming shared infrastructure into objects meant to be lived with and cared for.