Public Artist creating unique and iconic collaborative installations.
This website is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Portal 2021
Commissioned by The Public Art Commission of Elmhurst, IL A collaborative, site-specific commission, Portal is a welded stainless steel diamond-shaped torus ring. The brilliant insets of dichroic glass shapes punctuate the torus with colorful and dynamic energy that represent Elmhurst’s diverse and interconnected community in a central gathering spot of the downtown hub.
12’H x 10’W x 4’D, Stainless steel, custom-laminated dichroic glass and Indiana limestone.
Juniata Peace Arch 2021
Commissioned by Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. A collaborative, site specific commission for the center campus of Juniata College depicting an archway to peace made with custom-laminated dichroic glass that shifts color radically according to light conditions and the viewer's perspective, reflecting and casting colored light that represents a diverse international student population.
10’H x 15’W x 3’D, Stainless steel, and custom-laminated dichroic glass.
Pender: Christopher Tedin
Amplifiers 2014
Amplifiers is a site-specific commission by the Illinois Capital Development Board Percent for Art Program for the College of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana.
Documentary film above by Bon Bon Films, Chicago. This video was supported in part by a DCASE artists grant.
18’H x 12’W x 6’D, Stainless steel, custom-laminated dichroic glass, programmable RGB LEDs and granite. Above photos illustrate the daytime dynamic of the ever-shifting colors inherent in the dichroic glass and the nighttime effect of the programmed RGB LEDs.
The concept of “Amplifiers” is rooted in the history of the world-renowned Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois where both the transistor and the LED were discovered. Two sculptures capture the abstract dynamic of the oscillating light pulse from an electron-hole recombination and thus actualizes the physics of an LED. The project was highly collaborative gathering design input from ECE Professor John Dellasasse and from undergrad ECE major, Brady Salz with whom I worked collaboratively to program the LEDs.
Specifically, the sculptures honor Professors Emeriti, John Bardeen (inventor of the transistor) and Nick Holonyak, Jr. (inventor of the LED) and imply the dynamic research and collaborations that have earmarked this institution for decades, and they stand as LED-lit beacons for its future vision. It pays heed to the inherent power of two minds being greater than one.
Custom-laminated dichroic glass
Site-specific public art commission with custom-laminated dichroic glass, pictured left, CAD water-jet cut and specially formulated for outdoor, extreme environments
Spintronic Documentary
A documentary video by Bon Bon Films about the inspiration and fabrication of a sculpture that embodies cutting edge technology about an exciting emergent field that uses the “spin” or electromagnetization of atomic nuclei to store and process information. The custom dichroic glass discs within the sculpture shift colors radically dependent upon the viewer’s orientation and movement around the work, as well as the prevalent light conditions and angle. This film was supported in part by a DCASE Grant.
Spintronic 2017
Spintronic, 10’H x 5’D, Stainless steel and custom-laminated dichroic glass, is a site-specific commission for the City of Batavia, IL for the Donovan Bridge over the Fox River. The sculpture pays homage to the research being done at Batavia’s famed Fermilab superconductor where cutting-edge technologies are being developed for the field of electro-magnetics.
Whorled, 2022, Clark Street in Lakeview, Chicago. 8’ x 5’ diameter, Stainless & custom dichroic glass
What a Whorled!, 2022,
10’H x 5’Diameter, Steel and custom-cast glass rondels. Installed for the Chicago Sculpture Exhibit in Lakeview, Halsted Street, Chicago.
Populus 2019,
Chicago Peace Tree 2022
Populus, 8’H x 6’L x 6’D, Plasma cut stainless steel, was created during an artist’s residency fellowship at the Buffalo Creek Arts Center in Gardnerville, Nevada.
Chicago Peace Tree, 6’H x 4’W x 3’D, Plasma cut steel and dichroic glass. The sculpture represents the Ash tree’s leaf and canopy- a tree that is sadly being decimated throughout the Midwest by the invasive Emerald Ash Borer. Installed in Michigan City, IN
Chicago Peace Tree, 2022, Michigan City, IN. Stainless steel & custom-laminated dichroic glass.
Sangamon Eddy 2018,
Sangamon Eddy maquette
Sangamon Eddy is a site-specific commission for the Illinois Capital Development Board Percent for Art Program at Richland Community College in Decatur, Illinois. The aerial atrium installation echoes the nearby Sangamon River eddies. 107’L x 12’W x 5’D, Aluminum, stainless cable and lenticular polycarbonate. Maquette shown at the Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL
Prairie Town Dweller 2011,
Prairie Town Dweller, 10’H x 5’W x 4’D, Stainless steel and epoxied mosaic. Permanent Public Art Collection, Lakeview Chamber of Commerce SSA at Sheil Park, Chicago, IL Respectful & playful riff on a Frank Lloyd Wright partition screen from his Chicago masterpiece, The Robie Mansion. Design elements are pared away to reveal a female muse for FLW. Detail image © Jyoti Srivastava
Oscill8 2013,
Oscill8 is presently sited at the Wandell Sculpture Garden in Urbana, Illinois. It represents an infinite wave of light oscillating between spectrums & in equilibrium. It also refers to the phenomenon of many continuous systems naturally occurring.
Coldspot: A Gulf Story 2010,
5’ x 3’ x 2.5’, Mosaic & organic materials on a repurposed 1956 Coldspot refrigerator. Commissioned by Commonwealth Edison, Illinois to promote their Appliance Recycling Initiative. Exhibited on Chicago’s Magnificient Mile. Coldspot depicts the fragile ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico immediately following the Horizon/BP Oil Spill urging concepts of recycling and reducing energy use.
Foxgloves & Fists, and Fistacuffs, 2009-10
6’ x 3’, Mosaic, enamel paint and fiberglass. These companion sculptures illustrate the delicate balance between humans and our ecosystems. The foxgloves plant is extremely beautiful, but produces the toxin digitalis which is deadly to humans.
Nicole Beck, Lead Teaching Artist 1997-2022
I have worked as a professional Lead Artist with Chicago nonprofits (ASM, Gallery 37, Urban Gateways) in Chicago's most underserved neighborhoods since 1997.
I specialize in creating permanent public art projects with my apprentice artists that are collaborative, site-specific murals, mosaics and sculptures that are integral reflections of their communities. Communities served include: Brighton Park, Back-of-the-Yards, Canaryville, Chinatown, South Chicago, Austin, Auburn Gresham, Clearing, Bronzeville, and Elgin, IL.
The themes are professionally collaged & woven with their original, workshopped contributions and synonymous with their personal experience and aspirations.
G’s Bend, 2013,
This collaborative public art installation was commissioned by CPS Burke Elementary in Washington Park, Chicago and was managed by Urban Gateways. As a Lead Artist my apprentices created the designs and then painted these outdoor murals under my direction. Apprentice Artists studied the designs and collaborative processes of the Black enslaved women who created the quilts made in G’s Bend, South Carolina.
Perspective, 2006,
8’H x 6’W, mosaic on panel. This collaborative public art installation was commissioned by The Elgin Police Department, Elgin, IL and was managed by Urban Gateways. As a Lead Artist my apprentices created the designs and then fabricated these amazing mosaic panels under my direction.
Fiesta de la Communidad 2011,
This collaborative public art installation was commissioned by Healthcare Alternative Systems for their Back of the Yards facility and was managed by Urban Gateways. As a Lead Artist my apprentices created the designs and then fabricated these fantastical sculptures under my direction. Some of the elements were created by myself during a 10-week Artists Residency at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, CO.