Darryll Schiff's mural “Descending to
Heaven” is here at last! The 24 x 56 foot photo mural can be found
illuminated at 710 S Wabash. The latest public art piece installed
as part of the Wabash Arts Corridor went up January 25th
and the lights turned on following the installation. “Descending to
Heaven” is the first piece in the Wabash Arts Corridor to be lit
up! The opening drew quite a crowd, where Chicago art enthusiasts
admired the work visible at night.
It was an excellent turn out for the
opening reception of “Descending to Heaven” held at Elephant
Room, Inc., an intimate gallery in close proximity to the mural.
Crowds gathered to celebrate the artwork funded through Darryll's
successful Kickstater campaign, where many in attendance were donors
themselves – and now curators of public art! Ever since the mural
went up Darryll has been receiving an overwhelming amount of press,
including articles and studio interviews by media outlets such as DNAinfo, the Chicagoist, and WCIU among others.
The location of Darryll's mural has
made it the center-piece of the public art corridor, facing Columbia
College's Papermakers garden and visible by foot, car and even train
for those on Wabash and 8th or riding the rails between
the Roosevelt and Harold Washington stops.
Together Darryll Schiff the artist and
Mark Kelly the architect behind the Wabash Arts Corridor delivered a
heartfelt speech on the fruition of this passion project, that has
been in the works since March of 2015. Mark jokingly commented that
Darryll, a soft spoken man with a gutsy attitude wanted a piece of
this and gave us a great piece of art. Darryll, with that same gutsy
attitude joked back that his involvement with the Chicago public art
scene wouldn't stop here, but there will be larger works on the
horizon.
Darryll is so excited to finally have his mural up, stay tuned for more exciting news and more regular posts! Thank you to everyone who helped make this exciting public art piece happen! - Lauren Ike
