CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL ORANGE COUNTY
ROB PRUITT
CITY/STATE
Orange, CA
LOCATION IN HOSPITAL
Radiology Department
INSTALL DATE
2019
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ABOUT THE INSTALLATION
In 2019, RxART and artist Rob Pruitt joined forces to tackle the radiology department at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). For the project, Pruitt envisioned an expansive installation that stretched across the waiting room and hallways while transforming the CT suite into an immersive experience. Upon entering the RxART-designed CT suite, children were greeted with Pruitt’s maritime imagery adorning the walls—a vibrant depiction of a calming horizon, gentle waves, and a playful dolphin. The scanner itself was cleverly styled as a life preserver, topped with a whimsical movable seagull. What was once a nondescript medical space was infused with vitality, making the experience of undergoing tests less intimidating for the pediatric patients.
Pruitt’s iconic pandas also appeared throughout CHOC’s hallways sporting comical goggles and frolicking alongside marine companions in a seascape that brought the nearby Southern California coastline indoors. Pruitt believes pandas serve as a reminder to “revere nature, tread lightly on the earth, and treat one another with compassion.”
This project was made possible by the generous support of the Rallis Foundation.
ABOUT THE HOSPITAL
Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) is a pediatric healthcare system with 334 beds and is affiliated with the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to pediatric patients aged 0–21 throughout Orange County and the Southern California area. CHOC also features a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, the only one in Orange County.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Rob Pruitt (b. 1964, Washington, D.C.) is a post-conceptual artist known for his works that display Pop Art sensibilities while making ironic and witty social, cultural, and artistic commentary. His projects span across a variety of media, ranging from glittery paintings of pandas, to a book of DIY arts and crafts ideas, to transforming a gallery space into a flea market where visitors socialize with artists and buy both artworks and miscellaneous goods. Pruitt lives and works in New York.
Pruitt has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit, MI; LAND, Los Angeles, CA; and Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, NY. Pruitt is represented by 303 Gallery and Massimo De Carlo Gallery.
