American pop culture icons inspire Jeff Koons. One of his Popeye figures - or should we say Pop-eye, as a nod to pop art - was acquired last year by casino magnate Steve Wynn for 28.2 million dollars and now sits in the middle of the esplanade at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas.
Of course, hospitality is an art. But when this sense of hospitality is combined with great art, the experience sometimes borders on the sublime. Who hasn't dreamt of having an authentic Warhol, a Barcelo canvas or a Pissarro work in their home? Guests at the Dolder Grand can indulge in a little of that dream for a few nights. This hotel, one of Zurich's oldest palaces - renovated in 2008 under the direction of Sir Norman Foster - has scattered throughout its public areas countless works of art brought together by its owner, Urs Schwarzenbach, a billionaire financier, in partnership with the Gmurzynska gallery. To describe the place, imagine that a wealthy industrialist like Henry Clay Frick had decided to convert his New York mansion, crammed with masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Renoir, into accommodation rather than see it opened as a museum on his death... This is what the Dolder Grand is all about: an exceptional collection ranging from the very modern - Barcelo, Hirst - to the very old - Vernet, Pissarro - via the great names of the twentieth century such as Tapies, Ernst, Haring, Moore, Dubuffet, Magritte or the Swiss masters Hodler and Tinguely.
"It's really special when you walk into the hotel and find yourself facing an 11-metre Warhol overhanging the reception area, then dining in front of a Pissarro painting, or discovering works by Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely side by side on your way to the spa, says Vanessa Flack. Of course, not all customers come to us for this. Some even learn about the collection only when they arrive, and are impressed to discover that these are 'real' Warhol and 'real' Botero pieces. But all these pieces create a unique experience."says Vanessa Flack. The staff are all trained to give customers information about the sculptures and paintings on display. "They are not explained by any signage. No one would ever think of doing that at home, says Vanessa Flack, Director of Communications at the Dolder Grand. It's the same here. They're part of the home's décor."However, to help guests find their way around these masterpieces, the hotel is providing iPads with commentaries on each of the works. "Many people use it"says Vanessa Flack.
Similarly, in Singapore, the Ritz-Carlton Millenia offers iPods to guide visitors through its 4,200 works of art, almost all of which were commissioned by the hotel for its opening in 1996. "Since we introduced this service in 2007, around ten customers have visited us every day."In 2013, Peter Mainguy, the hotel's general manager, explained when the service was extended to Chinese and Japanese, in addition to English. According to the hotel, the collection comprises 350 important pieces. The museum value of the hotel has been hailed by Time magazine: its City Guide to Singapore describes the hotel as the second best place to visit in the City-State, after the Botanical Gardens, but before a stroll through Chinatown or a high-tech shopping spree.
After a brief overview of the hotel's architecture, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Kevin Roche, the tour, which lasts around thirty minutes, begins with the entrance to the hotel and the sculptures by Chinese artist Zhu Wei - two soldiers in Mao garb revisiting in their own way those of X'ian's terracotta army -, The exhibition then moves on to the hotel's atrium, dominated by a gigantic work by Frank Stella, Cornucopia, a 'cornucopia' hanging there and gracefully supporting its weight of almost three tonnes. And so on, with a Warhol here, a Hockney there, and blown-glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly. These are all works with a pop art or post-picture abstraction flavour, brought together by curator Elizabeth Weiner.
Showing off
Of course, to be able to offer such an abundance of art to visiting guests, you have to pay a high price. The collection at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia is valued at over three million euros. Almost a pittance compared to the 28.2 million dollars paid last year by the Wynn resort in Las Vegas to acquire one of Jeff Koons' three Popeye sculptures at auction. This sculpture is not the first by the artist to become part of the hotel-casino's heritage. In 2012, the Wynn had already bought his Tulips for $33.6 million. "Tulips is a symbol of hope, of the energy of vital forces. The work invites viewers to affirm their own existence, said the artist on the occasion of this acquisition. He continued: "Steve Wynn is renowned for collecting great pieces of modern and contemporary art. So to be allowed to see one of my sculptures in his collection means a great deal to me."The hotel's collection doesn't stop there. In addition to tapestries by Raoul Dufy and frescoes by Charley Brown and Mark Evans, a massive, voluptuous Seated Woman by Botero takes pride of place in the centre of the restaurant named... Botero; an almost obvious name, since the Colombian artist is honoured there with three other works, paintings from his Circus series, dating from 2007.
New York's Gramercy Park is another striking example of these museum hotels, a special place that reflects the spirit of the city through the works of all the artists who left their mark on it in the early 80s. Warhol, Basquiat, Haring... Reopened in 2006, the hotel marked the return to the hotel scene of another key player in the New York of the 1980s, Ian Schrager. This pioneer of boutique hotels with his famous Morgans, opened in 1984, was also the head of the legendary Studio 54 club, then the Palladium, and as such played host to the entire artistic movement of the era until the end of the night. He also gave them work. While the Palladium displayed frescoes by Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat around its dance floor, original photos by Robert Mapplethorpe adorned the rooms at Morgans. So it's no coincidence that Gramercy Park today showcases a condensed version of the creative energy of those incredibly festive times.
These hotels reveal their artistic soul to business travellers visiting these major business metropolises. They give them the priceless gift of a break in a constantly changing professional world. What's more, as companies ask their staff to be ever more creative, the works of art are a way of questioning themselves and the world. And in so doing, to think about it on new foundations.
Art has become an essential part of our everyday lives. Not least because, under the influence of pop art and its visual elements inspired by everyday life, it has become widely democratised; a movement accompanied by ambitious cultural policies, from Malraux to Jack Lang in France. But also because in this age of all-technology, all-digital, art is redrawing the essential relationships, touching on the intimate, between contemporary man and the universe around him.
The Derby Collection's Urban hotel in Madrid is a highly design hotel, with rare totem poles from Papua New Guinea.
Customers mingle with artists
The boutique hotel craze has caught on. Today, what trendy establishment hasn't decorated its lobbies and rooms with contemporary works and selected photographs? Of course, not all hotels are lucky enough to have wealthy patrons to give them the signatures of posterity... So they're betting on the future. In Chicago, the vibrant local scene is in the spotlight. The Hotel Palomar, owned by Kimpton, is committed to "Art in Motion". It has developed a whole programme around this philosophy, called "sleeping with arts". The hotel showcases up-and-coming talent and highlights these temporary exhibitions at events where guests can mingle with the artists.
For its part, the Hotel Éclat in Beijing is presenting works by the young sculptor Fan Xiaoyan, who questions China's current development around a number of themes - bureaucracy, agriculture, the business world, the army - and by Liu Ruowang, who reinterprets the ancestral technique of lacquer. At the Hôtel Molitor in Paris, the spotlight is on urban art. This is almost self-evident, since before being transformed into a hotel, the legendary swimming pool was abandoned and for a long time served as a place of expression for the inventiveness of graffiti artists. The new chapter in its history is now being written around the theme of 'Pool Art Life'. "Pool', then, as the life of the hotel naturally revolves around its pools, but also 'art' with La Manufacture, a space whose walls are covered with tags created by the big names in street art. Located in the basement, right next to the meeting rooms, La Manufacture is regularly used for seminars, giving events the feel of a gallery opening.
Alongside these establishments that focus on new talent, some are employing another strategy to offer their guests an aesthetic emotion: association with major museums. This is even a real trend, highlighted by two members of the Design Hotels, the QT in Sydney, partner of the Australian Museum of Contemporary Art, and The Thief in Oslo. Since it opened in 2013, The Thief has had a close relationship with the Astrup Fearnley Museum. Nothing could be more logical, given that the hotel is its direct neighbour and that its owner, businessman Petter A. Stordalen, is one of the main donors! In a way, the hotel has become his annex, displaying several pieces from his collection, including internationally renowned names such as Sir Peter Blake and Richard Prince, as well as works by Norwegian artists such as Magne Furuholmen, Camilla Löw and Kjell Nupen.
Through this association, The Thief aims to redefine what an 'art hotel' is. Because, let's face it, not all the works presented in certain establishments claiming to be arty are guaranteed to write the great pages of art history... So what is a real "art hotel" according to Sune Nordgren, the curator of The Thief? "It has to offer customers thought-provoking experiences that, why not, invite them to change their perception of reality for a brief moment. People who go to a museum come with particular expectations. In a hotel, guests are less prepared for this and experience the works in a different way. I find that terribly stimulating."
Museum, open up
In Minneapolis, Le Méridien Chambers is also a partner of the Walker Art Center, bringing together 200 original works by Young Bristh Artists, led by Damien Hirst, thanks to its owner, property magnate Ralph Burnet. The magnetic cards that open the hotel's rooms serve as sesames to the museum, and guests simply have to present them at reception to gain free entry. This facility offered to business travellers, perfectly in keeping with the bleisure trend, is not limited to this Méridien hotel alone. Through the Unlock Art programme, the Starwood group hotel has forged very close links with the museums and galleries in the cities where it operates. As in Minneapolis, the magnetic room keys, specially designed by artists Hisham Bharoocha, Sam Smore and Yan Lei, provide access to local institutions, such as those at Le Méridien Piccadilly at the Tate Gallery in London, or those at Le Méridien Etoile in Paris at the Palais de Tokyo. This programme is not just for individual customers, as the study days offered by the Paris hotel include free admission to this museum.
Art as the cornerstone
At a time when customers are looking for fresh inspiration, art is being used to position a brand's identity against the competition. Two groups have built on this idea: the 21c Museum Hotels in the United States and the Derby Collection in Spain.
21c Museum plays the culture game by immersing guests in all-in-one complexes combining a boutique hotel, a trendy restaurant and a contemporary art museum. The concept, which first appeared in Louisville in 2006, has been hailed by leading travel magazines such as Conde Nast Traveller, has since been duplicated in Cincinnati, Bentonville and Durham, before Lexington, Oklahoma City and Nashville, and soon Kansas City and Indianapolis. Why is this concept flourishing in these secondary cities? Because these projects are not just aimed at satisfying a clientele that loves contemporary art. They also aim to reinvigorate city centres by bringing old historic buildings back to life. The Group's developments are often supported by local authorities through public-private partnerships.
For his part, Jordi Clos, a financier by profession, but an ethnologist by passion and hotelier in his spare time, has combined his three hobbies to give his Derby Collection a soul. The owner of Barcelona's Egyptian Museum, Clos has been interested in Egyptology from an early age, and over the decades has built up one of the finest private collections devoted to original and ancient civilisations. Guests of Derby hotels, or those curious enough to pass through their doors, can discover these pieces in authentic little museums, or scattered around the floors, as at the Banke in Paris. This hotel boasts a unique collection of jewellery from Africa, India, Papua New Guinea and China, with sumptuous solid silver necklaces from the Miao ethnic group.
"In every room in the world, you'll find a Nespresso machine or the latest technological tools, comments Jordi Clos. But you won't see these pieces anywhere else. At the Claris, in Barcelona, some of the statues are displayed in the rooms and can be touched. In 23 years, we haven't had a single problem."No problem, really? "If, in Madrid, some guests are sometimes frightened by the gigantic totem pole that stands at the entrance to the Urban hotel, coming from New Guinea"says Jordi Clos. Isn't that what art is all about? First to surprise, then to provoke thought and understanding.
