Art in Hotels

• Posted on 26 July 2020
• By Roy Caro
• Posted in Art as a soothing method, artinhotels, Hospitality, large canvas
• 0

More than making you feel happy or relaxed, themed artworks can do wonders for your disposition and well-being. In fact, numerous studies have proven the positive effects art has on the viewer associated with contemplation of art.

Art in Hotels

Art and hotels have enjoyed a long and storied history as natural bedfellows. Claude Monet would become the first in a long line of Savoy Hotel artists-in-residence when he turned up in 1901 to begin painting the Thames from his balcony; the likes of Picasso and Matisse hung out at family run Provence inn La Colombe d’Or during the the ’20s and ’30s, trading some of their creative output for a free feed and somewhere to stay in seclusion on the Cote d’Azur.

Procuring and showing art in all shapes has been associated with the hotel experience for several decades now, with luxury brands highlighting local artists artwork and museum-quality prints.

Interior designers have long insisted on the value of displaying artwork, in hotel rooms and lobbies. They realize can be a positive ‘mood changer’ as well. Since, art has become a fundamental staple of today’s hotel design.

Decor is part of the package and experience hotels offer their guests. It can also provide an opportunity for hotels to bond with local artists and showcase their artwork to a select audience. Hotel guests enjoy the art displayed in hotel lobbies and rooms.

_{The Thief Hotel, Oslo}

Art in a hotel - especially permanent art - is more susceptible to damage and theft than in galleries or museums. When curating art in a hotel, take care to select works made of durable materials or art that can be protected with quality framing. It’s important to consider the level of maintenance needed for each artwork and to communicate these details to the hotel staff. When installing frames, we recommend security hangers, which lock securely to the wall and reduce risk of damage, crooked frames, and theft.

Each hotel brand has a story and the art experience should enhance it. As in more traditional art curating, we begin a project by conceptualizing the “exhibition”, using the brand story to guide the design. The selected program should create an interesting dialogue between the hotel, its audience, and the art and decor on display.

Actively Supporting Local Artists

Artists once depended only on galleries to showcase their work and be “discovered,” but more hotels now actively seek and support new talent in that role.

Commission or purchasing art merely for the purposes of decoration can also highlight mid-career artists whose works haven’t been spotted yet by collectors.

“Nurturing the artist is an aspect that is so often forgotten. “If the hotel is a good hotel and you (as an artist) are in a good position because a lot of people will see your work.

_{Casa Malca, Tulum}

Large Format Art

Giving the revolution somewhere to lay its head is The Thief hotel, whose art curator Sune Nordgren chooses individual pieces from established international (and the top Norwegian) artists for each of the 118 guest rooms, whilst in the communal areas you’ll find a more sensory experience.

As an example, Chuck Close’s large-scale photorealism is one of the highlights of an extensive art programme at Upper East Side New York’s The Surrey hotel; his Kate Moss portrait, a focal point of their lobby.

_{The Surrey Hotel, New York}

Each and every guest room in San Francisco’s Hotel Des Arts features unique installations and works of art from emerging local and international street artists — world renowned Shepard Fairey just one among many — creating an environment whereby people can experience art as they would in a gallery.

The Schaller Studio Hotel in Bendigo Australia