Blog

By Craig Kaiser, Class of 2012

In case you had not noticed, the Aston Chicago Apartments at 200 East Illinois is showing off Streeterville’s newest public art installation. The building changed ownership in 2018 and the new management initiated a renovation program which includes an expansive mural at the top of the 42-story building. The new mural is best viewed from the south along the river.

Stanton Interior Concepts was hired to redesign the building interior and collaborated on the outdoor mural with Mauge, a marketing firm in Bucktown. Loren Stanton and Carmen Maugeri collaborated to create an abstract mural that was raw but with the intent of connecting colors of the renovated interior with colors in the neighborhood.

Although some might see symbolism of the Hancock, Prudential II and references to Art Deco pyramids, Maugeri says they are purely coincidental. In fact, the public art aspect is also coincidental, as the mural’s primary audience is the tenants of Aston who use the amenities on the top floor terrace.

Chicago artist David Flores was hired to do the actual painting. Flores was a good fit for the project as he is known for “vibrant colors” and “shapes and patterns” – style art. The painting required the use of a three-story scaffold atop the forty-two-story building, challenging Flores’ fear of heights. Spanning twenty-six days of rainy weather, the actual paint time was about eight days.

While most of us don’t think about the coordination of a complex project like this, the overall project management was handled by Beauty and Brawn partners Lindsey Meyers and Simone Garcia. Beauty and Brawn specializes in the experiential curation of art which is an important element of public art.

Special thanks to the Aston building’s owners for investing in Streeterville public art and for Greystar Management in assisting with the research. CLICK HERE to learn more about the Streeterville Public Art Project.