Professional History: As a corporate Interior Designer for a turnkey architectural firm, DeChant’s professional experience provided her with a unique professional art consulting background. She was trained to architecturally consider finishes, furnishings, plants, and lighting when selecting artwork.

Business experience: This includes sales, marketing, contract negotiation, and art acquisition, advisory services for current collections, fine art exhibitions, and archival preservation.

Corporate clients: DeChant has led and coordinated fine art projects with architectural firms Cesar Pelli’s Office, Perkins, and Will, Bostwick Associates, among others.

Artist Representation: Ms. DeChant strongly supports important local artists as well as nationally and internationally recognized artists.

Represented Artists include Andrew Reach, Anne Mitro, Audra Skuodas, Camille Pissaro, Charlotte Lees, Don Boncela, Eddie Mitchell, Elizabeth Murray, Evie Zimmer, Gary Paller, Gerhard Richter, Jackie Battenfield, James Rosenquist, John Pearson, John Raimondi, Kathleen Hammett, Ora Sorensen, Randy Grantham, Robert Swedroe, Robert Winkler, Tom Wesslemann, Amy Donaldson, and Philippe Morel.

Cleveland Clinic Fine Arts Program: The Fine Art program at the Cleveland Clinic was instituted in 1985 by Dr. William Kaiser and Dr. Shattuck Hartwell with his appointed Aesthetics Committee members. The architect for the Crile building was Cesar Pelli. Other notable committee members included Carol Tomer, archivist for the Cleveland Clinic, and Andrew Chakalis from the Cleveland Museum of Art.  DeChant Art implemented using internationally known artists that were collected by museums and sold at major auction houses.

DeChant Art Consulting’s collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic began during the planning of the artwork by Cesar Pelli’s Julie Myers of the Crile building finished in 1984. Including the art proposals accepted at that time, Dechant continued to build the Clinic art collection for 20 years under the leadership of Dr. Floyd Loop, President, and CEO, and Dr. Joseph Hahn, Chairman Aesthetics Committee.

DeChant’s partnership was established in the 1980s. At that time Cleveland Clinic had no artwork in public spaces. Under DeChant’s art curation she instituted the professional art program guidelines for the institution, implemented their first art systems database, established best practices for professional art framing and installation practices, and expanded their collection to include important American artists. DeChant’s curatorial work on the  CCF Art program recommended the addition of important American Artists and was early evidence-based art planning using research on color theory and artworks that would be appropriate for pediatric care, geriatric care, psychiatric care, and healthcare institutions in general. 

As part of her healthcare art management experience, DeChant organized or curated approximately 8-10 art exhibitions every year. Some of these exhibitions included the first Kinetic Art exhibit, two CCF/ NASA exhibits (Unique to a Healthcare Institution), Women in Art exhibit, The 75th Anniversary Exhibition with Jennie Jones photography, annual Calligraphy Shows, annual Quilt Shows (that supported the Diabetes Research Department at the Cleveland Clinic), the Employee Art Show, and an annual Nature a Cure for Stress exhibition.  The Nature A Cure for Stress Exhibition DeChant curated for the hospital environment during the dead of winter with paintings, photography, sculpture and prints of the most beautiful scenes of vacation places, botanical gardens, favorite animals, seascapes, etc.

As part of DeChant’s success with the CCF art program, The Society for the Arts in Healthcare asked her to speak at two of their conferences about the history of the Cleveland Clinic art program. The second Society for the Arts in Healthcare conference presentation also included the impact of art and their role in reducing stress among doctors, hospital staff, and patients. Dr. Michael McKee, Head of Psychiatry developed a DVD of the Nature A Cure for Stress Art Exhibit with voice over to calm patients and uplift their spirits. It was presented at the Society for the Arts in Healthcare conference, and then broadcast daily on the CCF closed-circuit station.

DeChant has since curated art programs for Benesch Law, Majestic Steel, Nuveen Investments, and other institutions.

DeChant Art Consulting curated the 2005 Cleveland Clinic: NASA GRC Exhibition

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