New art installation to transform Rosemont mall entrance

A new contemporary art installation is transforming the grand entrance of the Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont.

Called "Shimmering Mirage (Red)" and "Descent into Light," the two-part installation includes a 3-D luminescent cube - suspended and lit from within - that will extend into a colorful mural on the sides of an escalator.

The cube was featured last September at Expo Chicago, an annual art exhibition at Navy Pier, while the mural is being painted at the mall this week.

"Because of the installation's placement within a busy shopping environment, it was important to me to tempt the visitors into taking a few moments to contemplate connections and find commonalities between people of diverse backgrounds and cultures," said Anila Quayyum Agha, the Pakistani artist who drew from calligraphy and geometric motifs to create the artwork.

"My hope is that the experience will be at once weighty and weightless, transporting the viewer to a mysterious and sublime environment."

The piece is the latest in a series of contemporary art installations at the two-level, indoor shopping center. Named "THE COLLECTION: Where Art Meets Fashion," the program includes 19 permanent commissions and a rotating exhibition series located in glass cases in mall common areas.