NEMA Chicago
Case Study

NEMA Chicago

Chicago, IL Collaborators Crescent Heights Featured Artist Lisa Schulte, Mia Stone, John Johnson, Scott Troxel Highlights Custom-design 7 x 4 foot blue bear cub made from layered fibreboard Project Scope Public spaces, common lounge areas, corridors, coworking space

Over the last 10 years, the South Loop of Chicago has been reimagined as a highly sought-after neighborhood. It offers incredible access to transit, culture and entertainment for those who want to live in the middle of it all without losing that cozy, neighborhood-feel. The neighborhood’s reputation made it the perfect place for one of the latest locations for Crescent Height’s NEMA. The NEMA brand that is synonymous with multi-family residences that are luxurious and high-tech while retaining a keen sense of a place. Working alongside the developers, Kevin Barry Art Advisory worked to bring the NEMA vision and mission into each room, translated through art.

One of NEMA Chicago’s most practical and increasingly desired amenities is a CoWork space that features stunning views of Grant Park. As an homage to the Chicago Cubs and to provide some lighthearted inspiration for a late night at the home office, artist Chris Nelke created a large-scale multidimensional sculpture of an iridescent blue bear. Further along in the CoWork space is a set of three colorful block towers also custom created for this property by Nelke. These painted blocks on a metal base evoke the towering landscape of the South Loop in a pixelated, deconstructed way.

More stand-out original sculptural pieces inside NEMA Chicago include a flurry of blue metal butterflies by artist John Johnson, and a wood collage piece by Scott Troxel. An exciting mixed media collaboration between abstract painter Mia Stone and neon sculptural work by Lisa Schulte greets residents coming off the elevators. Apart from sculptural art, photography is one of the most frequently used mediums in the art collection of the NEMA Chicago. A large-scale print of an abstracted Chicago street and sports-inspired photography are just some of the types of photography sourced for this picture-perfect property.

One of our favorite parts of working on NEMA properties is that their aesthetic is a great mix of fast-paced, city-living and luxury. We love the additional challenge of making the art truly reflect the sense-of-place that NEMA is known for— especially in a fun, vibrant city like Chicago.

– Allison M. Barry, President, Kevin Barry Art Advisory

City-living, technology and local inspiration are the key components behind the curation of this multi-family residence’s art collection.
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