UCI Health — Irvine: Where art supports healing

“A good picture is equivalent to a good deed,” Vincent Van Gogh said. If that’s true, three new buildings at UCI Health — Irvine are providing expansive benefits through their thoughtfully curated art collection.

Research is clear about art’s ability to reduce stress, enhance moods and lessen symptoms of chronic disease. So what better canvas for calming motifs than a hospital designed and built with the goal of improving the health and well-being of those who enter?

“When we set out to build the UCI Health — Irvine complex, we wanted an arts program that leverages the amazing artist community across OC and California as an integral part of the early design and part of the healing environment itself,” says Chad Lefteris, president and CEO of UCI Health.

With 300 commissioned pieces and 1,300 reproductions, the highly local display was a considerable undertaking that took about two years. James Irvine Swinden, former president of The Irvine Museum and son of Joan Irvine Smith, a longtime UC Irvine supporter, was tapped to chair a selection committee of nearly a dozen people, including local artists, design experts, philanthropists and other UCI Health co-workers.

“We had great diversity in terms of expertise, professional artists, collectors and [oncologist] Dr. Bernie Lewinsky, who was able to give perspective in terms of what would be important for patients and the healing process,” Swinden says.

Ellen Khoudari, committee member and senior project manager with UCI Health Planning, Design & Construction, credits Lefteris for keeping the goal of lifting spirits front and center.

Staying local

The focus on regional artists and well-known places in Southern California was crucial. “My vision was not only to have great art in the hospital from a healing standpoint, but also to have the art resonate with patients by having local scenes,” Swinden says. “So people could identify with the art they saw.”

Even the hospital’s color scheme was designed to tie into the scenery outside, with pops of orange to represent the cattails present in the San Joaquin Marsh Reserve and bits of blue to invoke the sky and nearby ocean.

“We wanted to capture this area because if a patient or a caregiver looks at something familiar, they’ll find comfort in that,” Khoudari says.

Laguna Beach artist Jeff Sewell served on the committee and produced the first commissioned piece in the collection. The painting, “Back Bay Rest,” depicts an idyllic spot in Newport Beach the way Sewell remembers it from his days growing up there.

“I was really attached to Back Bay my whole life,” he says. “My earliest memories are walking there with my father before I was 5. I love being able to create art with that scenario, where I’m connected to the scenes.”

A signature member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association and an award-winning artist, Sewell was eager to take part in a project that took a unique approach to hospital decor.

“They’ve done something above and beyond what most hospitals would do in thinking about the art,” he says. “They didn’t have to do anything more than have the best hospital on the planet. But they chose to complement that with some art that creates a calm atmosphere during challenging times.”

Sewell marvels at how many people have seen his art on display at the health campus, as he’s received messages and photos from many friends saying they noticed his pieces. That level of interaction even extends to his family.

“My father-in-law was in a room at the hospital recently, and the room had one of my reproductions,” Sewell says.

The goal to create a connection and sense of place is paying off.

As a regular attendee of Laguna Beach’s Sawdust Art Festival and Festival of Arts, Marrie Stone is familiar with local artists. During a recent visit to the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care, she took note of several pieces. “There were works from more than five or six artists we knew,” she says.

Diverse works

The art touches every area and caters to many sensibilities in terms of medium. There are enormous murals, intricate 3D glass structures, California impressionist paintings, complex textiles, photography and more.

“The art had to be soothing and inspirational, but it’s not all plein air,” says Swinden, whose responsibilities included the art’s placement throughout the UCI Health — Irvine complex.

Referring to a 12-foot-wide watercolor in the lobby of the Joe C. Wen & Family Center for Advanced Care by Jason Li, he says, “That is stunning. That’s a world-class piece.”

The works are often created to specific dimensions allotted for them.

It seems nearly every corner of the hospital is filled with art: from the emergency room to the meditation room, from the lobby to the patient rooms and even the co-worker lounges.

At the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center & Ambulatory Care building and in the hospital, each floor has a theme, some of which include wetlands, parks, and oceans and beaches, as well as specific cities such as Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and San Juan Capistrano.

It all combines to create a tranquil, caring atmosphere and an unique experience, different from what most people are used to in healthcare spaces.

“UC Irvine is my backyard,” Sewell says. “To be in a permanent collection in the hospital is an honor.”

Related stories

• UCI Health: Discover a legacy of impact
• UCI Health celebrates 50 years
• Harnessing the healing power of art