St. Mary’s Hospital

Madison, WI

The cornerstone of this 250,000 square-foot inpatient building’s art program is a commissioned assembly for the cardiac rehab area. Located on a curved feature wall, the imagery criteria required an art installation that was soothing yet inspirational, reinforcing the prairie-style architecture, while at the same time reflecting the area’s regional personality. Our concept utilizes imagery of the four seasons, acting as a metaphor for the healing process itself. We specified life-sized nature photography printed directly onto 5-foot glass panels. A collage was then created utilizing the natural imagery, pairing each subject with an image of an athletic endeavor, and color panel specific to that season. This twelve-panel collage was suspended utilizing a 1-inch brushed aluminum standoff and cable system. Care was taken during the installation process to make certain that no panel on the curved wall exceeded ADA access requirements.

Use of regional artists creates an art program that not only conveys Midwest imagery, but also allows the residents of this 17-county region to identify with the interior spaces. Special effort was taken to include works created by the Hmong artist community, as Wisconsin has one of the largest Hmong populations in the country. Imagery for the St. Mary’s pediatric unit needed to be bright, colorful and whimsical. We went the extra mile and framed up action figures floating over partially colored books and crayons, super hero dolls in action, and even game boards frozen in “game time”. This unique approach catered to the pediatric population, creating a stress-free healing environment for younger patients and their families.