If you walk the grounds and public spaces of Miami Cancer Institute, you’ll notice unique works of art, including sculptures, quilts and textiles. The pieces are part of the Institute’s Art and Design Collection, established through the leadership and support of Michael J. Zinner, M.D., founding CEO and executive medical director; and Leonard Alan Kalman, M.D., executive deputy director and chief medical officer. Both physicians believe that surrounding patients and caregivers with art and beauty contributes to their physical and emotional well-being.
Research has shown that patients exposed to the arts experience less pain, decreased anxiety and a better overall mindset during cancer treatment. Along with the Institute’s Arts in Medicine program, our Art and Design Program cares for the whole person—body, mind and spirit.
We are proud to acknowledge the inaugural Advisory Council members of the Art and Design program, whose dedication and contributions to this project made it reality.
- Bruce A. Beal, Sr.
- Paul Berg
- Darlene Boytell-Pérez
- Simon Levine
- Stefanie Block Reed
Art and Design Collection
Four large-scale sculptures by three distinguished American artists and a group of brilliantly colored textiles and quilts were made possible through donors’ generous gifts. The sculptures, donated by Earl and Christy Powell, grace the Institute’s grounds; while three dozen quilts and textiles, a gift of JPMorgan Chase, are presented throughout the first floor of the Institute, located on the main campus of Baptist Health South Florida.
The quilts and textiles were created by artists from around the globe between 1800 to the present. Coming from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, many of these intricately crafted textiles and quilts were produced by unknown artisans who relied on knowledge handed down from generation to generation to create the pieces. Quilts and textiles in the Art and Design Collection served both ceremonial and practical uses, including bedding, wall hangings, currency and clothing for ritual dances. Many of these objects were made as gifts to mark a wedding or the birth of a child and were passed down as family heirlooms.
Baptist Health Foundation is grateful to the Powell family and JPMorgan Chase for their generous philanthropic support.
Special Exhibitions
To complement the Institute’s permanent holdings, the Art and Design Program features an ongoing series of special exhibitions in the Shaham Family Gallery. These exhibits, which change on a regular basis, highlight the work of artists and art with ties to South Florida. The inaugural exhibition celebrates the work of Lynne Golob Gelfman (1944-2020), a highly respected painter who moved to Miami in the early 1970s. The six large paintings on view in the Shaham Family Gallery reveal Golob Gelfman’s distinctive and elegant style grounded in the modernist tradition of geometric abstraction. Featured pieces in the exhibition also underscore her admiration for handcrafted objects and textiles from around the world.
Golob Gelfman cared deeply about the importance of art in everyone’s life. For decades, she donated her time and talent to teaching art to children at The Barnyard, a program of Coconut Grove Cares, and she was a founding member of the Art and Design Program at the Institute, where she was a patient.
The Shaham Family Gallery at Miami Cancer Institute is named in honor of the family of Jacob and Helen Shaham, philanthropic donors to Baptist Health Foundation.
Art21
Between September 1 and December 15, by exclusive arrangement with the award-winning, non-profit Art21, the Institute is proud to present a selection of artists’ profiles that Art21 has produced in the last 20 years and regularly shown on PBS to great acclaim. Fostering Art21’s mission to inspire a more creative world through the works and words of artists, programs with Spanish subtitles feature leading contemporary artists from around the globe, including Luchita Hurtado, William Kentridge, Maya Lin, Martin Puryear and Kara Walker to name but a few. There is close to 20 hours of programming with offerings ranging from 10 minutes to an hour in length. Selected especially for the Institute’s patients, caregivers, staff and visitors, the programs are available on pCare in the infusion rooms and on the TVs throughout the first-floor lobbies on Channel 71.
Learn more about the program
To learn more about our arts program, please email MCIArtsInMedicine@BaptistHealth.net.
John Henry
United States, b. 1943
December’s Wall, 1990
Welded and machined aluminum painted red, 100 x 50 x 54 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of Earl and Christy Powell
Restoration and installation supported by Michael J. Zinner, M.D.;
Bill and Susan Tillett; Louis J. Capano; Bill and Clare Banchs
Photo: Francesco Casale
John Henry
United States, b. 1943
Carolina Blue, 1990
Welded aluminum painted blue,
123 x 63 x 80 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of Earl and Christy Powell
Restoration and installation supported by Michael J. Zinner, M.D.;
Bill and Susan Tillett; Louis J. Capano; Bill and Clare Banchs
Photo: Francesco Casale
Lyman Kipp
United States (1929-2014)
Blackjack, 1995
Aluminum painted black,
144 x 108 x 112 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of Earl and Christy Powell
Restoration and installation supported by Michael J. Zinner, M.D.;
Bill and Susan Tillett; Louis J. Capano; Bill and Clare Banchs
Photo: Francesco Casale
Joel Perlman
United States, b. 1943
Bright Star, 1996
Aluminum and steel,
117 x 56 x 36 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of Earl and Christy Powell
Restoration and installation supported by Michael J. Zinner, M.D.;
Bill and Susan Tillett; Louis J. Capano; Bill and Clare Banchs
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
Africa, Timbuktu Region, Mali
Wall Hanging, second half of the 20th century
Strip woven cotton, 55 ½ x 104 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker, Koroboro Senni people
Africa, Mali
Wall Hanging, third quarter of the 20th century
Strip woven cotton, 58 x 99 ½ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
Africa, Benin
Abomey Tapis Extraordinaire (Bird on Black),
Second half of the 20th century
Appliqued cotton, 36 x 51 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker, Senufo people
Africa, Korhogo, Ivory Coast
Korhogo or Mud Cloth (Birds in Flight and Suns), mid-20th century
Earth pigments on strip woven cotton, 33 x 58 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker, Bamana people
Africa, Beledougou Region, Mali
Mud Cloth (Bògòlanfini), mid-20th century
Strip woven cotton, resist dyed with earth pigments, 35 ½ x 58 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker, Kuba, Bushong people
Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Skirt Panel, 20th century
Raffia palm fiber plain weave, appliqued and embroidered, 27 ¼ x 36 ½ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker, Kuba, Shoowa people
Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kuba Cloth, early 20th century
Raffia palm fiber plain weave with cut-pile embroidery, 27 ¼ x 22 ½ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker, Kuba, Shoowa people
Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kuba Cloth, early 20th century
Raffia palm fiber plain weave with cut-pile embroidery, 27 ¾ x 22 ¾ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker, Kuba, Shoowa people
Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kuba Cloth, early 20th century
Raffia palm fiber plain weave with cut-pile embroidery, 22 x 27 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
Africa, Bamako, Mali
Tent Hanging (Arkilla Kerka), last quarter of the 20th century
Strip woven cotton, 112 x 72 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
Africa, Benin
Abomey Tapis Extraordinaire (Giraffe on Black),
Second half of the 20th century
Appliqued cotton, 34 ½ x 48 ½ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Europe
Anke Sievers
Germany, b. 1974
This is a Crying Lily that thinks of a Mushroom. A Nature Scene, 2002
Embroidery; acrylic thread, beads and sequins on cotton print,
21 ½ x 21 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Anke Sievers
Germany, b. 1974
Yes, 2002
Embroidery; acrylic thread on cotton, 19 ¾ x 20 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Anke Sievers
Germany, b. 1974
I Am Okay, 2002
Embroidery; acrylic thread on cotton, 19 ¾ x 20 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Latin America and the Caribbean
Unidentified Maker, Chuj people
Guatemala, San Mateo Ixtatan
Embroidered Coverlet, mid-20th century
Embroidered cotton, 69 x 104 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker, Mam people
Guatemala, San Ildefonso Ixtahuacan
Woman’s Blouse (Huipil), mid-20th century
Embroidered cotton, 23 ¼ x 47 ½ x 2 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker, Kaqchikel people
Guatemala
Woman’s Blouse (Huipil), 1940
Embroidered cotton, 29 x 53 ¾ x 2 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
Guatemala, San Juan Sacatepequez
Woman’s Blouse (Huipil), 1970
Embroidered and woven cotton, 22 x 34 x 2 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
Peru, Huancayo Province, Junin Region
Upper Body Garment or Mantle (worn for chonquinada dance), circa 1980
Silk embroidered cotton, 33 x 30 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
Peru, Huancayo Province, Junin Region
Woman’s Upper Body Garment or Mantle (llijlla), circa 1959
Woven wool, 37 x 31 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
José Martínez (Kuna Joe), Guna/Kuna people
Panama, Guna Yala (San Blas Islands)
Blouse Panel (Mola), 1974
Appliqued and embroidered cotton, 13 ¾ x 17 ¾ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
José Martínez (Kuna Joe), Guna/Kuna people
Panama, Guna Yala (San Blas Islands)
Blouse Panel (Mola), 1974
Appliqued and embroidered cotton, 12 ¾ x 17 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
José Martínez (Kuna Joe), Guna/Kuna people
Panama, Guna Yala (San Blas Islands)
Blouse Panel (Mola), 1974
Appliqued and embroidered cotton, 12 ¾ x 17 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
José Martínez (Kuna Joe), Guna/Kuna people
Panama, Guna Yala (San Blas Islands)
Blouse Panel (Mola), 1974
Appliqued and embroidered cotton, 12 ¾ x 17 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Middle East and Asia
Unidentified Maker
Indonesia, Northwest Lampung, Sumatra
Woman’s Ceremonial Sarong Skirt Cloth (Tapis), circa 1934
Embroidered cotton, 49 ¼ x 50 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
Indonesia, Java, Pekalongan
Sarong Skirt Cloth (Kain Lepas), circa 1860
Resist dyed and painted cotton, 40 ½ x 80 ½ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Iwan Tirta
Indonesia, 1935-2010
Batik Textile Length, circa 1980
Wax resist dyed cotton with gold leaf, 105 ½ x 78 ½ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
India, East Bengal or Bangladesh
Kantha Quilt or Cover, second half of the 20th century
Pieced and quilted cotton, 85 x 56 inches
Lent anonymously
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
India, East Bengal or Bangladesh
Kantha Quilt or Cover, second half of the 20th century
Pieced and quilted cotton, 85 x 55 inches
Lent anonymously
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
Pakistan, Kahuta, Punjab Province
Wall Hanging with Animals, second half of the 20th century
Wool embroidery on cotton, 68 x 48 ½ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
Uzbekistan, Bokhara
Wall Hanging, late 19th century
Silk and cotton ikat, 95 x 44 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
United States
Unidentified Maker, Native American, Seminole
United States, Florida
Seminole Quilt, circa 1935
Pieced and appliqued cotton, 85 x 72 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
United States, Probably Pennsylvania
Variable Star Crib Quilt, circa 1880
Pieced cotton, quilted, 34 ¾ x 34 ½ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker
United States, Pennsylvania
Child's Album Quilt, circa 1910
Appliqued and pieced cotton quilted, 35 x 28 ½ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Unidentified Maker, Hmong
United States, Wisconsin
Hearts and Stars Quilt, circa 1984
Reverse applique cotton, 28 ½ x 28 ¼ inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Ken Tisa
United States, b. 1945
Caribbean See, 1983
Glass beads, sequins, and cloth on canvas, 32 x 25 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Ken Tisa
United States, b. 1945
Caribbean See, 1983
Glass beads, sequins, and cloth on canvas, 32 x 25 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Ken Tisa
United States, b. 1945
Caribbean See, 1983
Glass beads, sequins, and cloth on canvas, 32 x 25 inches
Miami Cancer Institute Art and Design Collection
Gift of JPMorgan Chase
Photo: Francesco Casale
Lynne Golob Gelfman
United States (1944-2020)
trigrids, 1974
Acrylic on canvas,
54 x 54 inches
Lent by the Family of Lynne Golob Gelfman
Photo: Francesco Casale
Lynne Golob Gelfman
United States (1944-2020)
through blue 3, 1975
Acrylic on canvas,
54 x 54 inches
Lent by the Family of Lynne Golob Gelfman
Photo: Francesco Casale
Lynne Golob Gelfman
United States (1944-2020)
through red, 1977
Acrylic on canvas,
54 x 54 inches
Lent by the Family of Lynne Golob Gelfman
Photo: Francesco Casale
Lynne Golob Gelfman
United States (1944-2020)
through blue 2, 1975
Acrylic on canvas,
54 x 54 inches
Lent by the Family of Lynne Golob Gelfman
Photo: Francesco Casale
Lynne Golob Gelfman
United States (1944-2020)
thru 43, 2014-2018
Acrylic on canvas,
54 x 54 inches
Lent by the Family of Lynne Golob Gelfman
Photo: Francesco Casale
Lynne Golob Gelfman
United States (1944-2020)
RC 08, 2004 (detail)
Acrylic on canvas,
80 x 18 inches
Lent by the Family of Lynne Golob Gelfman
Photo: Francesco Casale
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