NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/ELMHURST
NINA CHANEL ABNEY
CITY/STATE
Queens, NY
LOCATION IN HOSPITAL
Pediatric Ambulatory Clinic
INSTALL DATE
2022
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ABOUT THE INSTALLATION
In 2022, RxART and Nina Chanel Abney worked together to refresh the walls and windows of the Pediatric Ambulatory Clinic at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. The resulting artwork, Fun # 1, features Abney’s brightly colored shapes, happy characters, and interlocking graphics. These visual elements provide a positive distraction for approximately 15,000 patients, their family members, and the hospital staff. Beyond the hospital’s walls, Abney’s welcoming forms and window applications can be seen from the outside, making the artist’s uplifting imagery accessible to the wider Elmhurst community.
“NYC H+H/Elmhurst is thrilled to have a unique and immersive art experience for our smallest patients and their families,” said Amy Harris, Associate Executive Director for Ambulatory Care Services at New York City Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. “Nina Chanel Abney’s large-scale waiting room artwork is a feast for the eyes! The faces, symbols, and phrases painted in primary colors appeal to young children and invite a playful and welcoming healthcare environment for them.”
This project was made possible through the generous support of Glori Cohen and Agnes Gund.
ABOUT THE HOSPITAL
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst is part of an integrated healthcare system that includes hospitals, neighborhood health centers, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, and home care services. Elmhurst serves nearly one million people in one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse communities in the United States. Designated as a "Baby-Friendly" Hospital by Baby-Friendly USA, a World Health Organization, and United Nations Children’s Fund initiative, Elmhurst delivers over 2,200 babies annually. The hospital has 44 maternity beds, 30 neonatal beds, and 22 pediatric beds.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Nina Chanel Abney (b. 1982, Harvey, IL) combines representation and abstraction in paintings that capture the frenetic pace of contemporary culture. Broaching subjects as diverse as race, celebrity, religion, politics, sex, and art history, her works eschew linear storytelling in lieu of disjointed narratives. The effect is information overload, balanced with a kind of spontaneous order, where time and space are compressed and identity is interchangeable. Abney lives and works in New York.
Abney’s work has been presented in solo exhibitions at The School | Jack Shainman Gallery, Kinderhook, NY; Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles, CA; the Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; and more. Abney’s work is held in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; among others.
