ADVOCATE ILLINOIS MASONIC MEDICAL CENTER
WALEAD BESHTY
CITY/STATE
Chicago, IL
LOCATION IN HOSPITAL
Main Lobby and Elevator Bay
INSTALL DATE
2016
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ABOUT THE INSTALLATION
In 2016, RxART collaborated with artist Walead Beshty on a unique installation for the main lobby and elevator bay of Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. In response to the commission, Beshty created four large, striped light boxes informed by the colors of the 100 most frequently prescribed medications. The installation is visible from outside the hospital and illuminates its surrounding environment, which is the first point of experience for the patients, visitors, and staff. It offers a source of lightness in what is normally a time of tension.
This project was made possible through the generous support of the David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation, Elizabeth and Conrad von Peterffy, Pamella and Al Capitanini, Radiology Partners, and IIC Radiology Group.
ABOUT THE HOSPITAL
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center is one of the state’s largest, most comprehensive nonprofit medical centers. Advocate Illinois offers a wide range of medical specialties and is nationally recognized for its medical expertise, use of the most innovative technologies, and dedication to patient safety, quality, and service.
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, recognized with numerous awards for quality and clinical excellence, has earned Magnet designation for its outstanding nursing services from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Additionally, the medical center has been honored as a Leader in LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality by the Healthcare Equality Index of the Human Rights Campaign.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Walead Beshty (b.1976, London, England) earned his BFA from Bard College in 1999 and his MFA from Yale University in 2002. Beshty works in a variety of mediums, including photography, sculpture, painting, installation, and video. His work often grapples with how meaning and relationships within objects emerge out of their contexts and how the aesthetics of art can be demystified and democratized, emphasizing that they can be understood by anyone, regardless of the amount of capital or power the viewers possess. He lives and works in Los Angeles.
Beshty has had solo exhibitions at Regen Projects, Los Angeles, CA; Petzel Gallery, New York and Berlin; and Thomas Dane Gallery, London; among others. His work has also been featured in group exhibitions at institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL. He is represented by Petzel Gallery, Thomas Dane Gallery, Kadist, Regen Projects, and Galerie Eva Presenhuber.
