Corporate Spotlight: The Vue

If you’re a Kansas City local, then you’re well aware of the development boom happening in the greater Overland Park area. Our corporate art team had the pleasure of working on The Vue, a luxury apartment complex right in the heart of DTOP. It was a blast to create a collection that represented the vibrant local life. Check out the inside scoop on our project at The Vue.

Adding a Pop of Color

Like many multifamily settings, The Vue has a primarily neutral color scheme. For this reason, it was a key objective to select pieces that brought in colors that were both a fun splash and an inviting complement to the existing surroundings. We created a playful, energetic environment with whimsical abstracts and inspiring landscapes. The art helped to develop visual interest in the space without drawing away from The Vue’s high-end, sophisticated interior.

Spotlighting Local Artists

One priority with the team at The Vue was the use of local artwork. To accomplish this goal, we partnered with several local artists to print limited edition pieces for The Vue. Check out the gorgeous Kansas landscape by Julie Hansen (center) and the funky Eric Bowers photograph of the iconic Nelson-Atkins shuttlecock (right). Not pictured: a HUGE triptych on metal sublimation by Laurie Kilgore. We love showcasing local artists in our projects!

Curating a Large Collection

In total, we installed more than 30 pieces throughout The View. To an outsider, that may seem like an impossibly large task, but to our corporate art team, it’s just another day on the job! Finding art for your commercial setting can feel overwhelming. There’s the budget, selecting pieces you actually like, and then figuring out how to actually get them up on your walls. At any point, your project can go seriously wrong! As a comprehensive art house, we handle everything from selection to installation, all within your time and monetary parameters. The View is just one example of our practice in action!

If you want to learn more about working with the Prairiebrooke team, schedule a consultation with one of our designers. We’ve got a whole line of art solutions under our belt, and we’re ready to take on your commercial challenge!

Featured Artist: Aaron Reichert

Born in the tiny town of Owosso, Michigan, the last day of 1978, Aaron was soon adopted by the Reicherts and raised in Hartland, Michigan. A talented artist from a young age, Reichert made portraits of his personal heroes from history, stage, film, and television.  After graduating high school, he went to Chicago, where he received a BFA from Loyola University with emphasis on theater and sculpture. His journey is filled with art in all forms, and hi s pieces are the perfect representation of his life—layered with details and comprised of intricacies that come together to form a beautiful whole.

Style & Subject Matter

Reichert uses a pallet knife to hew his iconic faces out of passages of black and white. Working without a detailed plan, he paints intuitively, shaping an environment of energy seemingly below the skin of the subject. From a distance, we see a dramatic figure; up close up, we confront a spontaneous orchestration of particles bursting from the canvas. Reichert says of his artistic objective, "I have always been disinclined to explain the work I do, even to myself. Explain too much and the thing dies. I derive the greatest wonder not from definitions, but from maneuvering within mysteries.” As Richard Ford writes, ‘The world is not only stranger than we know but a lot stranger than we CAN know.’ Perhaps when I finish my last painting I will be able to look back and state exactly what I was trying to achieve the whole time, but I hope not."

Similar Artists

While it’s unlikely to find a piece that can hold its own against the elusive precision and striking drama of a Reichert, elements of his work can be found in the work of other artists. Eric Bowers uses the classic black and white color palette to capture simultaneously modern and timeless scenes from throughout the Kansas City area. Julie Hansen shares Reichert’s intuition and creative use of monochromatic strokes in her big, bold colorscapes. If you’re drawn to the movement of Reichert’s pieces, consider an abstract from Wilfred Lang. Whatever your preferences may be, we’re sure to have a piece at the gallery to suit your style.

If your home is in need of art, contact the team at Prairiebrooke. Our design experts are ready to help you through the art buying purchase, from first selection to final installation. Schedule your consultation to get started!

Corporate Spotlight: Olathe Cancer Center

Every project is important, but last year’s work with Olathe Cancer Center felt especially personal. Curating a collection of art for those undergoing the extremely difficult circumstances that accompany cancer and its treatment proved to be challenging in more ways than one. Find out how the Prairiebrooke Consulting team applied their superior design skills and thoughtful method to this extensive project in our latest post.

The Significance of Design

In any healthcare environment, it’s crucial to develop a calm, serene aesthetic to put patients at ease throughout their time in the facility. With the work at Olathe Cancer Center, that purpose felt even closer to home. At the time of this particular assignment, a dear friend of the Prairiebrooke family was battling cancer. Her inside feedback on the cancer treatment process as a whole helped to shape and drive the design approach at OCC. It was our goal to create a healing surround in which patients and their families could relax and dedicate their focus to feeling healthy again.

Creative Solutions to Commercial Challenges

Corporate settings often require out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to design. The donor wall at Olathe Cancer Center was no different. The massive space was dedicated to honoring those who contributed to the facility, and we wanted to create visual interest to anchor the wall. To accomplish this, the donor list was custom printed on canvases totaling 4’x10’ in size and was offset by a custom triptych. Another hurdle the team addressed was the echo-conducive conditions of OCC’s lobby. To soften the noise and provide visual interest to the towering walls, the Prairiebrooke team designed custom giclée sound panels that hung on either side of the lobby. It was exciting to see the creative solutions effectively resolving these common commercial challenges.

A Focal Point to Ground the Room

A Focal Point to Ground the Room

For the grand finale, the Prairiebrooke’s Consulting team created this gorgeous focal point for above the lobby fireplace. Printed on a huge—as in huge—sheet of acrylic, this soft landscape adds dimension and beautifully reflects the dozens of light fixtures that glow in OCC’s lobby. It’s a gentle piece that was designed to soften the surroundings while still providing a centerpiece for the room’s interior design.

Prairiebrooke’s corporate art team has been servicing the greater Kansas City area since 1990. As a full-service art house, we’re proud to provide comprehensive art services to the healthcare, hospitality, and multifamily industries. If you’re in need of commercial art solutions, schedule a consultation with one of our experts today.