Dicker, an experienced art collector, made the tough call to exclude a beloved piece from his prized collection from the décor. Rather than storing or selling the 1987 lithograph Kite on Gibson Beach by Malcolm Morley, Dicker gifted the artwork to Cedars-Sinai—a poignant nod to his history with the hospital. He was born at the former Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in 1958 and grew up in Beverly Hills.

The painting’s new home: the new, nine-story Cedars-Sinai Marina Hospital, set to open late this year. Dicker says it’s the perfect spot because of the new hospital’s ocean-inspired design elements that reflect the coastal community.

“When my wife passed away in 2019, I decided to move to the log vacation home we built, and the Morley just didn’t fit in,” Dicker said. “But it’s a piece I’ve always loved and thought it would be better to donate so that more people could enjoy it.”  

Nancy Chaikin knows exactly how Dicker feels. The art advisor and collector has given Cedars-Sinai Marina artwork from her own collection, an oil on linen piece by Sean Landers called Untitled, which exudes ripples of the ocean using a special paint application technique.

“I am thrilled to contribute to the hospital's environment,” Chaikin said. “Art can activate a space, not only by creating warmth and beauty, but by provoking thought and emotion. I feel fortunate to share Sean Landers’ work with patients, employees and visitors at Cedars-Sinai.” 

Donated works of art have already made a difference to visitors like Gianna Chaisson, whose father recovered at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after a major heart attack.

“I found myself walking through the hospital and was deeply impacted by the art collection,” Chaisson shared. “In moments when everything felt so uncertain, the artwork helped keep me grounded and, most importantly, hopeful.”

Cedars-Sinai, located in Beverly Grove, has long been known for its donated art collection and now is seeking to extend the art-as-healing philosophy to the new hospital.

“We love receiving art of all genres that enrich the healing spaces Cedars-Sinai is known for and that inspire everyone who enters,” said John T. Lange, curator of the Cedars-Sinai art collection and manager of the Cedars-Sinai Advisory Council for the Arts. “We consider it such an altruistic act to part with valued pieces that beautify, and inform our themes of hope and restoration to soothe those facing health challenges.”

Lange is busy these days, figuring out where to display the donated art. He strategically places every piece to generate and emphasize Cedars-Sinai’s healing environment. For example, a collection of handpicked images graces the walls of the surgical unit, so post-op patients are encouraged to walk a little farther every day to see the next art piece. Studies have proven that walking after surgery can speed a patient’s recovery and discharge.

Lange is also collaborating with Cedars-Sinai’s director of Urologic Oncology research, Timothy Daskivich, MD, to develop an app for patients to monitor their steps by choosing an art tour on their floor.

“Art is not only nice to see,” Lange said. “It is very powerful medicine that plays a huge role in creating a healing atmosphere for those facing health challenges, visitors and, of course, our employees.”

To participate in helping to expand the Cedars-Sinai art collection, email artcollection@cshs.org.

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: The Art of High-Impact Philanthropy

Cedars-Sinai has unveiled the largest artwork in its extensive collection, and it’s located on the façade of the new Cedars-Sinai Marina Hospital, now under construction in Marina del Rey. Measuring 120 feet wide and 16 feet tall, the mural is the only mosaic in Cedars-Sinai’s collection.

It is also a solution to an unusual challenge.

“The side of one of the support buildings to the main tower was going to have a big blank wall facing the community,” said John T. Lange, curator of the Cedars-Sinai Art Collection. “We saw an opportunity to engage the community with this mural.”

Lange said Cedars-Sinai put out a call to local artists to propose artwork that could fill the massive 1,900-square-foot space on the side of the new hospital’s energy center. The goal was to select a design that would resonate with those who live and work in the area.

Hospital leaders, staff and community members reviewed the submissions, ultimately selecting a vibrant sunburst reflecting off water, designed by artist Jay Yan, who has spent the past decade sailing in the harbor off Marina del Rey.

“My favorite part of the day is the return home when you see the sunset on the water and that beautiful kind of half-sun sinking into the ocean, making the sky this kind of magenta, pink, dark blue shade,” Yan said, while seated at his desk in the cavernous studio he shares with other artists. “There is something just so beautiful about those colors that a digital camera just cannot capture. I was very inspired by trying to create that in tile.”

Yan found further inspiration in the colorful mosaics lining the underground walkways between terminals at Los Angeles International Airport, just a few miles south of the hospital.

“They are just absolutely spectacular and an icon of Los Angeles,” Yan said, gesturing to a photo of one of the mosaics pinned behind his desk.

Building the Sky, Tile by Tile

To re-create the vivid hues of the Marina sky, Yan worked with Cerámica Súro, a ceramics studio and factory in Guadalajara, Mexico, renowned among artists, designers and architects for its custom work. Over five visits, Yan selected colors from the studio’s vast library, working with a pigment specialist to refine the palette. The factory mass-produced tens of thousands of rectangular and curved tiles, glazing them on a giant conveyor belt.

“Making this piece from glazed tile means that the brightness and beauty of the color will last for decades despite exposure to weather and the salty Marina air,” Yan said.

With the help of computer software, Yan created tile patterns within the mural that are never repeated, grouping the bouncing sunrays into jigsaw panels glued to a fine netting to simplify installation. To make the half sun, the artisans produced large, curved ceramic plates, cutting them into wide slices.

The factory hand packed the plates and panels into custom boxes, shipping them to Los Angeles, where a skilled crew laid out large swaths of the mural in a warehouse.  

Finally, the crew hauled boxes of tile onto scaffolding 30 feet high to install the jigsaw pieces and plates on the hospital’s energy center.

Honoring Hospital Staff

The finished mural gives commuters a brilliant welcome as they exit the 90 Freeway, heading west on Mindanao Way.  

“As the sun rises from the east, it will hit the sun motif on the right side of the façade,” Yan said. “As the day goes on transitioning toward evening, the sun will shine on the other end of the mural, where the color of the tile will match the night sky.”

Yan named the mural “Tlaquepaque” after the neighborhood in Mexico where the tiles were made, to honor all the people who have worked on the piece—the artisans who mixed the pigments by hand, the women who assembled all the tiny pieces and the Los Angeles crew who installed the tiles—all of whom are from Guadalajara.

“I wanted to honor their labor while also recognizing all the people who labor at the hospital,” Yan said.

Healing Power of Art

While the nine-story hospital has been under construction, staff members and physicians driving or walking by the site have texted photos of the progress to Joanne Laguna-Kennedy, MSN, RN, vice president of Hospital Operations and chief operating officer of Cedars-Sinai Marina Hospital.

“They are so excited, and this massive new mural is going to instill so much pride,” Laguna-Kennedy said. “They’re going to see this piece on the way into work and think, ‘That’s my hospital.’”

Laguna-Kennedy is also looking forward to the paintings, prints, photography and sculptures that will fill the hospital’s hallways, waiting areas and patient rooms.

“When I was a nursing leader at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, I used to take patients for walks to the artworks because they were everywhere,” she said. “I'm so excited that we will have that same opportunity here at the Marina campus as well. There is just such a healing component to artwork, and we are really fortunate to have such incredible artists sharing their masterpieces with us.”

She also sees the art—and especially the mural—as symbols of Cedars-Sinai’s enduring commitment to the local community.

Yan hopes the bright sun and its chromatic rays provide comfort to patients and their loved ones.

“When we come to the hospital, it's typically not our happiest day,” he said. “I want to bring some joy to people as they enter, to relieve some of the tension they feel and some of their fears when they step through the hospital’s doors.”

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: The Healing Powers of Art

Select artists are invited to sell their work at the Recover Art Exhibit and Sale, which will be open to the public Feb. 20–22, at Cedars-Sinai Thalians Health Center. All proceeds from those sales will go directly to the individual artists. Cedars-Sinai donors and employees can preview and purchase artwork on February 18 and 19.

The event is the brainchild of the medical center’s Advisory Council for the Arts, whose members are embedded in the tightknit Southern California creative community. Local arts organizations supporting the effort include Grief and Hope Los Angeles, the Museum of Contemporary Art Projects Council, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, the Hammer Museum and the Bendix Building.

“During the fires, each time I’d log on to social media, I’d discover another friend who’d lost their home or another artist who’d lost their studio, or another who’d lost irreplaceable art and it was just devastating,” said John T. Lange, curator of the Cedars-Sinai art collection and arts program manager. ”The sale is our way to give back in a meaningful way, with artists displaying and selling their work to help get back on their feet.”

As part of the event, Cedars-Sinai also will sell artwork from the institution’s private collection of more than 5,300 museum-quality pieces. Those proceeds will benefit Grief and Hope Los Angeles, a fund organized by L.A. artists and gallery workers committed to helping peers impacted by the fires.

The exhibit and sale will feature more than 100 pieces of art. Prices start at about $20. The sale is open to the public from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. on Feb. 20–22. Admission and parking are free at Cedars-Sinai Thalians Health Center, located on the medical center’s main campus at 8730 Alden Drive in Los Angeles.

Read More on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Employee Art Exhibit Spotlights Creativity