CHILDREN'S NATIONAL HOSPITAL
JONAS WOOD
CITY/STATE
Washington, DC
LOCATION IN HOSPITAL
Emergency Department and PICU
INSTALL DATE
2020
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ABOUT THE INSTALLATION
In 2020, RxART collaborated with artist Jonas Wood to craft unique privacy curtains for two departments at Children’s National Hospital: the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and the Emergency Department. In the often bustling and impersonal atmosphere of hospitals, privacy curtains serve as the only available respite. Wood's designs, filled with lively depictions of animals, sports balls, fruit, vases, and flowers, not only offer patients a visually stimulating and imaginative landscape but also provide a positive mental and emotional distraction from the hospital environment.
Of the new curtains, a PICU nurse remarked, “We don’t know how it feels waking up from a coma, but seeing these beautifully designed and playful curtains puts a smile on everyone’s face.”
This project was made possible through the generous support of the Eliza Moore Fund, the Julius and May Schwartz Charitable Fund, and the Rallis Foundation.
ABOUT THE HOSPITAL
Children’s National Hospital, based in Washington, D.C., is transforming pediatric medicine for all children. Children’s National has been designated twice as a Magnet® hospital, demonstrating the highest standards of nursing and patient care delivery. This pediatric academic health system offers expert care through a convenient, community-based primary care network and specialty outpatient centers in the D.C. metropolitan area, including the Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs. Children’s National is home to the Children’s National Research Institute and Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and is the nation’s seventh-highest NIH-funded children’s hospital. It is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care and as a strong voice for children through advocacy at the local, regional, and national levels.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jonas Wood’s (b. 1977, Boston, MA) practice encompasses multiple genres through piecing together and layering a collage of personal memories and experiences, sports, places, people, heroes, and art objects. Wood received a BA in psychology from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and his MFA in painting and drawing from the University of Washington. Wood lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
His work is included in public collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; among others. Wood is represented by Gagosian Gallery and David Kordansky Gallery.
