Artwork copyright Hernan Paganini. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Andrew Giammarco, 2024.

Artwork copyright Hernan Paganini. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Andrew Giammarco, 2024.

Artwork copyright Hernan Paganini. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Andrew Giammarco, 2024.

Artwork copyright Hernan Paganini. The artist Hernan Paganini with his artwork. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, by Andrew Giammarco, 2024.

Artwork copyright Hernan Paganini. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2024.

A Sprout in the Desert, 2024

Hernan Paganini
(Argentinian, born 1982)

Location: University of Washington - Medical Center Northwest, Seattle

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

A Sprout in the Desert is a two-part, site-specific artwork by Hernan Paganini. Using the light and shadows, and the movement of the sun inside the hospital, the relief artwork captures these elements and reflects them into the space. It uses our senses to create a meditative and nourishing space. Paganini uses the large-scale flowers to transform the space into a large, natural landscape. The flowers represent nature awakened, where life manifests, expands, and breathes – they bring with them the possibility of being. Paganini notes that “Resting in the garden, my soul is nourished, I contemplate the day and its endless possibilities, the healing is one with me.”

The local Art Selection Committee wanted the art to be like a second skin of the building, that transports people to a gentle, soft, and caring state of mind. Paganini tried to use the building to tell a story through the two artworks.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with University of Washington.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Hernan Paganini creates sculptures, installations, and collages out of recovered and found objects, "products of the discards of society as a trace of their unconscious gesture." He explores the relationship between places, their stories, and the construction of our own subjective ideas. Paganini notes, "The gestures inside my work reveal three simple facts; nothing is perfect, nothing is finished and nothing lasts."

Paganini was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and he has lived and worked in Seattle, Western Washington since 2017. He began his art studies focused on Graphic Design at Buenos Aires University. He has been the Artist in Residence at King County Government (2018) and at the City of Seattle's Recology Program (2019). Inspired by the relationships between art, education, and culture, Paganini created a Nomadic School Workshop Project called "Viaje en Barco" for kids and adults, in North America, Latin America, and Europe.