Client: Fullerton Beach Underpass Mural

Location: Chicago, IL, United States

Completion date: 2017

Project Team

Artist

Renee Robbins

Artist

Assisted by JJ McKluckie, Andrea Jablonski, Jane Georges, Lisa Gray, Ruben Aguirre, & John Barlow

Assistant

Public Art Agent

Chicago Public Art Group

Client

Fullerton Mural L3C

Overview

CHICAGO (July – August 2017) In collaboration with the Chicago Public Art Group, Chicago-based artist Renee Robbins transformed the pedestrian underpass at Fullerton and Lake Shore Drive with two monumental murals, each 14 feet tall x 110 feet long. The project, titled A Kaleidoscope of Hidden Worlds, considers the complex relationships between humans, nature, and the cosmos. It’s supported through the generosity of Fullerton Mural L3C and residents of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Goals

The goal was to transform the pedestrian underpass into a work of art at the Fullerton Avenue Beach on Lake Michigan. One of the most highly traveled underpasses in the city of Chicago, the underpass links the neighborhood of Lincoln Park with the 18 mile lakefront trail along the shore of Lake Michigan.

Process

Planning for the project took a year. Renee Robbins led a team of 6 assistant artists for 7 weeks of mural painting.

Additional Information

The artist’s layering of numerous extraordinary worlds—often hidden from view—encourages viewers to take a closer look at their surroundings. Inspiration involved research on the local ecology around Lake Michigan. Themes include the symbiotic relationships between species as well as camouflage behaviors inform the design. The composition’s sense of movement draws from cycles in nature, such as growth and decay, changing seasons, and rising and receding tides. Design motifs were inspired by spirals, which repeat in different natural systems, including DNA helixes, flower structures, hurricanes, and galaxies. Robbins’ use of wave patterns mimics those present in water, light, and planetary motion.