Newsletter June 2012

Newsletter index:
Metropolitan Hospital Installation

Trenton Doyle Hancock
 Installation
James Welling Installation

Avant Garde Preschool

RxArt TV

Cynthia Rowley Party

RxArt Announces Two New Board Members

RxArt Welcomes Two New Team Members

New Intern

Image1 Metropolitan Hospital

Metropolitan Hospital Installation

2012 got off to a fantastic start with some incredible installations in hospitals around the country.  We’ve added Houston and Atlanta to our list of cities, and in February, we partnered with New York’s Metropolitan Hospital, located on 97th Street and 1st Avenue.  Agnes Gund, a long-standing supporter of RxArt and President Emerita of MoMA, generously funded the purchase of prints from the Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project.

Six editioned prints by Glenn Ligon, George Condo, Donald Baechler, Robert Cottingham, Donald Sultan and Malcolm Morley now adorn the walls of Metropolitan Hospital’s Radiology Department.  Hundreds of patients pass through the waiting room each day.  As evidenced by the photos here, the brightly-colored prints have enlivened a crowded, windowless space and brought a sense of vibrancy to the room.

Ranging in subject from the more abstract (like Sultan’s Japanese ink-inspired Mimosas) to the whimsical (as seen in Condo’s Paper Faces, a cacophony of his distinctively comical characters), the pieces have been received with immense enthusiasm.  RxArt is thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Metropolitan and is grateful for Ms. Gund’s continued support of RxArt’s programming.

Go back to the top of the page

Image2 Trenton Doyle Hancock

Trenton Doyle Hancock Installation

On March 1, RxArt and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital unveiled a new mural by Trenton Doyle Hancock.  The site-specific piece is approximately eight feet tall and thirty-nine feet wide and has been installed at the entrance to the Houston, Texas hospital’s Pediatric Imaging Wing.  A luncheon was held at the hospital on March 1 to celebrate the new installation, which was made possible by the support of Mollie and Bob Myers.

Entitled “Hi and Hi,” the mural is Hancock’s life-affirming response to a stylistically similar, albeit darker, work done earlier in his career and held in the MFA Houston’s collection.  The phrase “Hi and Hi” is interspersed throughout the mural; coupled with the bright characters, the mural’s message will make entering the imaging wing a more welcoming experience for both young patients and their families.

Also installed in the hospital are two large-scale drawings by Jason Middlebrook, which now warm the entrance to Memorial Hermann’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Click here to see more pictures from the installation!

Go back to the top of the page

James Welling Installation

With the help of RxArt supporters, we were able to complete our first project in Atlanta at Emory University Hospital’s Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences in April. 14 of James Welling’s vibrant photographs from his Glass House series now line the walls of the department’s waiting room – click here to see some of the installation shots!

This project could not have been possible without your incredible support during our End-of-Year Fundraiser.  At the beginning of December, we launched a campaign to raise the final $2,000 necessary to complete the project.  In just a short time, we met our goal and were able to move forward with the installation, which has been met with positive reactions by Emory’s staff and patients.  David Schuster, M.D. and Emory’s Director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, said: “Whenever I walk through our waiting room, I make a point of smiling to our patients.  Now, with the beautiful photographs from James Welling adorning our walls, it is that much easier to smile.  We have received many positive comments from patients and staff as to the healing power of the art.  Thank you RxArt!”

Thank you to all those who made this project possible.

Go back to the top of the page

Image4 Avant Garde Preschool

Avant Garde Preschool

The Avant Garde Preschool Program began with a bang on March 25, thanks to Dan Colen’s unwavering energy and enthusiasm with the 25 budding young artists.  Partners & Spade, the New York City design studio and store, has teamed up with RxArt to relaunch a program they had begun several years ago but that had been dormant for the last two years.  The class, targeted at children ages 5-12, will be led by a different artist each month.  Children will have the opportunity to learn from renowned artists, experiment with nontraditional materials, and embrace their artistic sides in a no-boundaries space.  Click here to take a look at the album on our Facebook page from our first two classes with Dan Colen and Julia Chiang, where kids used M&Ms, colored flowers, and PLAY-DOH to create colorful (and often messy!) masterpieces of their own.

Stay tuned for more details on upcoming classes.

Go back to the top of the page

Image5 RxArt TV

RxArt TV

RxArt is excited to share its most recent video project, RxArt TV, spearheaded by our social media and video expert, Catherine Kim.  We have released two on-screen interviews to date with Will Cotton and Evan Gruzis.  Several other interviews are in the editing stages and will be released on the RxArt blog soon.  Tune in to hear more from the artists and get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their studios.

 

Go back to the top of the page

Image6 Refinery29

Courtesy of Refinery29.com – Photo by Emily C. Hard

Cynthia Rowley Party

On April 19, RxArt board members Cynthia Rowley and Bill Powers were presented with the 2012 School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Legend of Fashion Award. The night before the school’s annual student work showcase, Cynthia hosted a cocktail party and shopping event at one of her Chicago stores.  Cynthia generously elected to have a portion of the evening sale’s proceeds benefit RxArt. The event was a success by all measures – a plethora of friends and fashion lovers were out in full force to support the fabulous designer.  Congratulations to Cynthia and Bill on the prestigious award!

Go back to the top of the page

Image7 Board Members

RxArt Announces Two New Board Members: Rob Pruitt and Jen Brill

RxArt has grown tremendously over the last several years: new projects, partnerships with artists and hospitals, and a geographical expansion of our work and mission.  To that end, RxArt is thrilled to announce two valuable additions to its Board of Directors.

Rob Pruitt, a world-renowned artist and long-time friend and supporter of RxArt, joined the Board at the beginning of 2012.  Currently represented by Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, Pruitt is recognized for his playful, pop-infused works, frequent use of glitter and iconic panda motif.  Pruitt partnered with RxArt in May 2008 to install six original works at St. Jude Children’s Research Center in Memphis, TN.

Jen Brill, creative consultant and CHANEL ambassador, was also named to the RxArt Board at the beginning of 2012.  Brill has been a member of RxArt’s advisory board since 2008, during which time she has been essential in helping expand RxArt’s visibility and establish valuable corporate partnerships.

RxArt welcomes both Pruitt and Brill and looks forward to working closely with them.

Go back to the top of the page

Image8 New Team Members

RxArt welcomes Two New Team Members

As RxArt continues to expand, it has welcomed two new team members.  In September 2011, Morgan Jacobs joined the RxArt team as Director of Marketing.  Morgan came aboard after completing her Master’s in Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art.  Previously, she worked in the Investment Banking Division at Barclays Capital.  Morgan graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Art History and a certificate in German Languages and Literature.

In November, Rena Stein was welcomed aboard after receiving her Master’s of Social Work from Yeshiva University.  She graduated in 2008 from Cornell University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Fiber Science and Apparel Design.  Rena was especially drawn to RxArt’s mission since her brother was born with congenital heart disease.  She has subsequently spent a great deal of time in and out of hospitals while growing up, and she fully believes in art’s power to positively change the feel of a hospital space for patients, family and staff.

Go back to the top of the page

Image9 New Intern

New Intern

Geertje Schokker has joined the RxArt team for six months as our graphic design intern.  Hailing from the Netherlands, Geertje is a Communications major at Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden and is minoring in Graphic Design.  She is loving living in New York City and has been actively exploring the contemporary arts scene here, making weekly visits to galleries and museums and keeping all of us in the office up to date!  We have loved having Geertje on the team and will miss her (and her Dutch cookies!) when she heads back to school in the fall.

Go back to the top of the page

Categories: RxArt Projects
Comments