Guillermo Wagner Granizo


Guillermo "Bill" Wagner Granizo is an American artist, known for his brightly colored ceramic tile murals which often featured historical or autobiographical references. He was active in Northern California from 1970–1995, and lived in San Francisco, Ben Lomond, San Jose, and Benicia.

Early life and education

At birth he was named William Joseph Wagner, born in San Francisco, California on March 11, 1923. His mother Dora Granizo was Nicaraguan. and his father Joseph Wagner was of German-decent and from the East Coast. He lived in Guatemala and Nicaragua for eleven years in childhood. Upon returning to San Francisco he attended St. Dominic’s School in the Western Addition neighborhood, and High School of Commerce.
He served in the US Army during World War II and was injured on Utah Beach during D-Day. After the war, Granizo attended San Francisco College of Art for a year.

Career

Granizo worked as an art director at KRON-TV, a television station in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s and later worked on directing educational films.
He started doing ceramic tile murals in 1970, and at that time he changed his name to Guillermo Wagner Granizo. He worked with the Stonelight Tile Company of San Jose for many years. His works are made of brightly colored ceramic tiles, and feature bold geometric shapes and abstract characters. He would often sign his work BWG.

Personal life

After World War II, Granizo married Amalia Mary "Mollie" Castillo, she was from a prominent Guatemala family. Together Castillo and Granizo had two sons and divorced in the early 1970s.
Granizo's second marriage was to artist Lark Lucas, and together they lived in Ben Lomond, California. Lucas and Granizo separated in 1984, and Granizo moved to San Jose, California to be closer to the tile factory.
Granizo moved to Benicia, California in 1980 and resided there until his death in 1995. He died in November 1995 in Benicia, due to cancer.

Public art work

This is a select list of notable public art work created by Granizo, and listed by year of creation.
YearTitle and/or descriptionArtistMaterialDimensionsLocationNotes
1980"Cathedral of Man"Guillermo Wagner GranizoCeramic tile muralSpans multiple walls and ceilingInstitute for Scientific Information, on the 3rd floor landing, 3501 Market St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1981"A Gift of Appreciation to this Area", one muralGuillermo Wagner GranizoCeramic tile mural4-foot by 12-foot muralSanta Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St, Santa Cruz, CaliforniaMural depicts past events that have been held at that location.
1984"Monterey Mural", one outdoor muralGuillermo Wagner GranizoCeramic tile mural11-foot by 45-foot muralMonterey Conference Center, 1 Portola Plaza, Monterey, CaliforniaMural depicts 150 scenes of history of the city of Monterey including the Rumsiens, Spanish colonists, and Mexican farmers. In 1983, the city of Monterey commissioned a 11-foot- by 45-foot tile mural, depicting the history of the city, which was completed a year later in 1984. From 2015 until 2018 the Monterey mural was removed and placed in storage, for restoration and a remodel of the building that housed it.
1984Four outdoor muralsGuillermo Wagner Granizo, Lark LucasCeramic tile muraleach mural is 7-foot by 13-foot muralInstitute for Scientific Information, in the Caring Center playground, 3501 Market St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1984One outdoor muralGuillermo Wagner GranizoCeramic tile muralMission Dolores, courtyard, San Francisco, CaliforniaMural depicts the arrival of the San Carlos ship in the San Francisco Bay.
1984“Olympic Fantasy,” one outdoor muralGuillermo Wagner GranizoCeramic tile mural93-foot by 24-foot muralCalifornia State University, Los Angeles, Physical Education building, Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe mural was restored in 2010.
1989"Lighthouse Fantasy", four indoor muralsGuillermo Wagner GranizoCeramic tile muralEl Faro restaurant, 2399 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaThese murals hang on the upper level of two walls and depict happy people in San Francisco, with lots of party balloons, hot air balloons, the ocean, a light house, and more.
1992–1995"Vacaville Centennial", twenty outdoor murals, set into three freestanding wallsGuillermo Wagner GranizoCeramic tile muralVacaville Civic Center, 650 Merchant St, Vacaville, CaliforniaMurals depict the city of Vacaville history.
1995"Pleasanton Centennial"Guillermo Wagner GranizoCeramic tile murals on three columnsAt Bernal Avenue and Main Street in Civic Park, Pleasanton, CaliforniaMurals depict the Pleasanton Fairgrounds, local agriculture, the Ohlone people, and the railroad.