Client: Parkview Regional Medical Center

Location: Ft. Wayne, IN, United States

Completion date: 2012

Artwork budget: $150,000

Project Team

Architect

HKS

Interior Designer

HKS

Artist

Guy Kemper

Industry Resource

Derix Glasstudios

Art Consultant

Skyline Art Services

Skyline Art Services

Overview

There were two sites.
River Grass, in the main lobby, relates to common human associations of sky, water and calm, the warmth of the sun, and strength. It is an impressionistic rendering of dappled sunlight shining and shifting through reeds that are growing up out of the floor.
Summertime, at the entrance to the Heart Institute, is a summer garden.

Goals

The goal was to provide uplifting, integrated artwork. Skyline Art Services planned a river theme as the unifying element for most of the artwork throughout the hospital, and I worked closely with them to make sure my pieces integrated with this.
The glass was an integral part of the original architectural drawings from the start of the project.

Process

The executive officers of the hospital oversaw the selection of the artwork, with input from the interior designers.
I wanted to make sure my artwork was of a piece of the whole, both thematically, architecturally and for the psychological benefit of the users of the hospital and its employees.
I spent substantial time working with the lighting consultant and support staff to make sure the artwork was properly lit. This was a very difficult and critical element that was successfully integrated.