New artwork enhances the station and improves the travel experience—aligning with the agency’s commitment to increase public art across the transit system
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) today announced the completion of new artwork for the Irving Park Blue Line station. The art was created specifically for the station by Chicago artist Dan Devening. This bright and colorful installation is the latest example of CTA’s ongoing commitment to expand public art to bus and rail facilities throughout the city.
“We always welcome opportunities to continue to add new unique and exciting art pieces to our public art collection,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “These artworks help enhance our transit stations and facilities and provide a better travel experience for our riders and the neighborhoods we serve.”
The new artwork by Dan Devening, titled passin’ by; looking up; movin’ on, uses vibrant color and a selection of simple shapes to highlight and celebrate the thousands of passengers who travel through the subway, ride the ‘L’ (trains), and eventually arrive at their destination. It is full of exuberance and movement, this artwork illustrates the rich diversity of Chicago through a broad lens of simple design, color, and whimsy.
Fabricated of porcelain enamel on steel, the multiple modular elements of the artwork bring rhythmic visual energy and drama to the Irving Park station passageways, guiding CTA travelers from the street to the platform and back again.
Funding for this project was provided by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for transit enhancement projects. CTA issued an RFP in 2016 which resulted in contracts for 7 artists/CTA locations including the Irving Park station on the Blue Line. The artist’s contract was valued at $200,000 for the design, engineering, materials & fabrication, delivery, artist fee and insurance. The installation of the artwork was performed by CTA staff including sheet metal workers, and carpenters. A community engagement session was held in June 2017 to introduce artist and gather community input that was shared with the artist prior to designing the artwork.
Over the last decade, the CTA’s public art public art collection has nearly doubled to include nearly 90 permanent works of art across all eight rail lines and multiple bus facilities. This dynamic and immersive collection of public art includes mosaics, art glass, sculptures and interactive installations created by nationally and internationally acclaimed artists, many of whom are local.
For more details on CTA’s public art collection, visit transitchicago.com/art.
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About the artist:
Dan Devening / Irving Park Blue Line
http://dandevening.com/
Dan Devening is an artist, curator and educator living in Chicago, IL. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Since the mid 1980s, his paintings and works on paper have been featured nationally and internationally. Devening is also the Director of devening projects editions, a gallery project in East Garfield Park featuring exhibitions and site-specific installations by emerging and established international artists.
