Judy Ledgerwood
October 10, 2025 | CTA Blue Line Racine Station, Chicago
Judy Ledgerwood’s new permanent, site-specific installation is open now at the CTA’s newly renovated Blue Line Racine Station. The Racine stop renovation is part of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)’s multi-year project to make the Blue Line Forest Park Branch fully accessible. Composed of 704 unique, hand-made ceramic tiles, Ledgerwood’s new public artwork, titled Flowers for the Blue Line Racine Station, spans 40 feet of wall space from floor to ceiling, wrapping around the station’s north and west walls to greet commuters as they enter.
Conceived over two years ago, the project was realized in collaboration with Ingrid Harding, Chief of Production at the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory in Munich, Germany—a producer of fine porcelain and terracotta majolica since 1747. Each tile was hand-formed in red terracotta and finished with low-relief textures and vibrant polychrome majolica glazes. Ledgerwood designed sixteen distinct tile forms and spent months refining the clay body and glazes, treating each tile as an individual painting.
Judy Ledgerwood joins previous artists commissioned to create artworks for stations, including Theaster Gates (Red Line station at 95th Street in 2018) and Nick Cave (Green Line Garfield station in 2018). “Nothing gives me greater joy than to have the opportunity to tap the talents of a local artist to enrich the transit riding experience and add yet more art to one of our rail stations,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “With each new piece of public art added to one of our facilities, we are not only beautifying the space but we’re also celebrating and contributing to the surrounding the community.”
