I Thought of You...The People’s Painting

Monique van Genderen created this expansive mural in response to the architectural proportions of the courthouse lobby and the ladscape of Harrisburg. The painting’s immense blue ribbon is an abstract reference to the nearby Susquehanna River, which is visible from the higher floors of the courthouse.

The tall, narrow windows that intersect the mural’s blue brushstrokes resemble bridges spanning the river as it weaves through the city. Between these windows are 21 canvases that are digitally printed with the original sketch for the mural. The photographic surfaces of the canvases create a visual contrast with the painted wall, resulting in an optical push and pull between the overlapping materials.

Van Genderen composed the dynamic color play in this artwork to harmonize with the architecture, to provide an emotional uplift to courthouse visitors, and, in her words, “to transport the viewer to a space apart from our everyday reality, a space that speaks to our individuality and commonality at the same time.”