Artist Katie Chung paints a mural on the 94th floor of 875 North Michigan. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)

1,030 feet above Michigan Avenue, Chicago artist Katie Chung pays tribute to the neighborhoods below. She is painting a mural across seven windows in the 360 Chicago Observation Deck at 875 North Michigan Avenue, the building formerly named the John Hancock Center.

“The beauty of Chicago is the neighborhoods,” the artist told WTTW News. “When I was asked to propose a mural for this room I was given a tour of the space, and I like how they highlight different neighborhoods of Chicago and educate tourists, so I wanted to create vignettes of neighborhoods.”

She titled the mural “Locals Only,” and Garfield Park, Bronzeville and Chinatown are among the areas she highlights. A second generation Korean American, Chung grew up in Lakeview. She is best-known for her work in textiles.

“I grew up in my mom’s dry cleaning and tailoring shop,” Chung said. “Sewing has always been in my life.”

Along with sewing and mural-making, Chung is versed in bookbinding, printmaking and design, which she studied while earning a BFA from the School of the Art Institute.

Artist Katie Chung paints a mural on the 94th floor of 875 North Michigan. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)

Now she’s adding bold strokes of color — including a hand-painted floor — to an austere interior. Chung uses many colors while keeping in mind Obangsaek, a color scheme known as the five cardinal colors of Korean culture. Blue, red, yellow, white and black represent five orientations: east, south, center, west and north, respectively.

“I love colors,” Chung said. “The colors in my work derive from traditional Korean colors — really balanced, bright color palettes. You see it a lot in Korean architecture, clothing and food. It’s something that’s always been around me, and it’s a moment in my life when I make work that pays homage to ancestors, family, culture. It’s an exploration of ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where do I come from?’”

Chung previously made murals for Lollapalooza and Facebook’s Chicago office. She’s looking forward to finishing the mural on the 94th floor of 875 North Michigan and returning to her art-making practice.

“I make art that’s very private, that’s about my personal identity, but this (mural) is the kind of art where I’m allowed to think of the general public and think about art that doesn’t require art history or any sort of knowledge — it’s just pure joy.”