92-foot 'Venus,' now San Francisco's tallest statue, opens to the public

Artist Lawrence Argent's 92-foot high stainless steel sculpture "Venus" is seen from an apartment on the 10th floor of Trinity Place at 8th and Mission streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 12, 2017. Venus is the dominating centerpiece of the central piazza, which will be open to public access daily. less Artist Lawrence Argent's 92-foot high stainless steel sculpture "Venus" is seen from an apartment on the 10th floor of Trinity Place at 8th and Mission streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Friday, May 12, 2017. ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 53 Caption Close 92-foot 'Venus,' now San Francisco's tallest statue, opens to the public 1 / 53 Back to Gallery

Maybe you've caught a glimpse of her by peering down the skinny corridor on Eighth Street between Market and Mission streets.

The 92-foot-tall "Venus" twists her shiny steel body as if she were a genie coming out of a bottle, rising above a plaza at the center of the four-building Trinity Place apartment complex in SoMa.

The statue is the tallest sculpture in all of San Francisco and "Venus" is only about 20 feet shorter than the "Statue of Liberty" when you don't include the height of her arm extending her torch into the air.

The project has been under construction for more than 10 years, and while the goddess wrapped in swirling robes was completed a full year ago, work continued on the plaza surrounding her.

Now, the one-acre Piazza Angelo with gardens and art pieces is finally open as a privately owned public space, welcoming visitors daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Read more about the artwork on display in the plaza in The San Francisco Chronicle story "Sangiacomo's Trinity Place courtyard 'a landscape of surprises.")

"Venus" is "the final statement by landlord and housing developer Angelo Sangiacomo, who died in December at age 91, as reported in a previous SFGATE article.

Under the city's "1 percent for art" program run by the San Francisco Planning Department, Sangiacomo was required to donate 1 percent of Trinity Place's cost to fund public art. That amount came out to $5 million, and funds could have either been "donated to the Public Art Trust Fund, overseen by the San Francisco Arts Commission, or added to a project by its developer, as overseen by the Planning Department," as reported in SFGATE.

Sangiacomo decided to create a public plaza at the center of the development and fill it with a collection of sculptures — known as C'era Una Volta as a whole. He hired the Denver artist Lawrence Argent to create the anchoring art piece. Drawing from Sangiacomo's love for Classical art, Argent decided created the modern interpretation of the "Venus de Milo."

Argent, who is known for exuberant works, has another famous piece in California, the 35-foot, stainless steel, leaping "Bunny Foo Foo" at Hall Winery in St. Helena.