Studio Arts Professor Dmitry Kemell Contributes to “Hospital of Emotions” Exhibition

This summer, LMU Professor of Multimedia Arts Dmitry Kemell is one of 70 artists who transformed St. Vincent Hospital in Los Angeles from a place of medicinal healing to artistic healing. The immersive art exhibition, "Hospital of Emotions," invites visitors to explore eight departments dedicated to different emotions, and brought to life by the vision of each artist.

Kemell's work is often transformative, interdisciplinary, and site-specific - from the interdisciplinary arts studio he is the founding director of, to his work as a music producer and composer for various multimedia projects. His work has been published in Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly and CNN, and has been featured at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

His installation at the Hospital of Emotions is dedicated to hope, an emotion he sees as the ground of striking duality of hospital rooms. "Hospitals are a threshold between different states of being, ultimately one rooted in hope, where healing, renewal, and transformation can begin - my three children entered the world in hospital rooms, while I also said goodbye to loved ones, including my father and grandfather," reflects Kemell.

Kemell's installation, called "Toward the North Star," honors these personal memories. It is centrally inspired by his father, who led the family as they immigrated from the former Soviet Union to Los Angeles. "I dedicated this artwork to his spirit and to the courage it took for him to bring our family to a new shore in pursuit of freedom and opportunity" says Kemell. "In the installation, a hospital bed undergoes a state of metamorphosis into a sailboat, through a four-channel projection-mapped installation, remaining both bed and boat, but overtaken by the kinetic potential of the sails and the bow pointing toward a destination of hope as we navigate life's waters" he explains. Kemell worked collaboratively with his colleague, LMU Professor of Studio Arts Macha Suzuki, as well as studio arts major Cole Dudley '26 to build the installation.

In a world where virtual and simulated spaces are ever increasing, this installation serves as a reminder of the importance of shared physical experience and connection.

"Some of the most powerful artistic experiences come from being present with a work and with other people in real time," notes Kemell. "This is one reason I'm drawn to site-specific art - it creates moments that connect us more deeply to a place, to one another, and to something beyond ourselves" he says.