Will luxury hotels become places of fine art?

Art has been a part of the hospitality industry for a very long time. Hoteliers have often had to come up with creative strategies to make a hotel stand out. By placing interesting and eye-catching artworks throughout the hotel, they have offered an exclusive experience to their clientele.

Artworks help build a hotel’s identity and provide a superior aesthetic experience by creating an inspiring and stimulating ambience. While the smaller lodging  usedom Hotel options favor cost-effectiveness and central amenities, artworks are almost an integral part of luxury, boutique, and design hotels.

The need for art

Artworks are a representation of society because they served as both functional and symbolic elements. While some may say that art is a display of their ethnic sophistication, for some it is more of an individualistic expression. As a functional element, artwork is used for psychological and healing purposes, for social purposes and even as a means of communication. Personally, they connect people to their roots or the broader human condition. Artworks also arouse curiosity and interest and provide an exuberant experience.

Elevate the style of hotels with artwork

Curating art for a hotel is often done by the hoteliers themselves and for that reason it often reflects their values, creativity and the theme they associate the exhibition with. A separate budget is set aside for this, and although investment in art is limited, it has led to different marketing strategies for hoteliers.

The use of paintings, sculptures or creative elements in hotels is undoubtedly an effective way to enhance their appearance without investing in structural changes that could prove to be more expensive and time-consuming. Experienced hoteliers often say that simple changes in the color of the walls or rearranging the furniture can visually expand the room by up to a meter. In fact, the rooms that have framed artworks by famous painters are more expensive than others.

Integrating artist communities and galleries with hotels

Famous luxury hotels are generally supported by the artist community for new and exciting works of art. This helps hotels stay up to date with the latest trends while giving artists a canvas to showcase their talents. It is a collaboration that benefits both sides. As quoted by Paul Morris, famous host of numerous international art fairs, including the Armory Show in New York City, “hotels really can’t get enough of having mallard prints on their walls anymore. So they need to tap into the artist communities for help.”

It is also known that independent art consultants and interior designers often work with hotels. Not only do they help define the look of the property, they are able to source art from the best local talent and turn it into a great bargain. With the help of interior designers and consultants, hoteliers can reach new heights in creativity.

Hotels with brilliantly integrated art

In these times, art has become fundamental to a hotel rather than being just an ornament or an element of its design. This inspires hoteliers to think outside the box and curate art in the most exquisite and unexpected ways.

Take the signature room at the Thompson LES Hotel in Manhattan, for example, which has an industrial-chic loft with exposed concrete columns and floor-to-ceiling windows. But what really catches the eye is the artwork hanging above the bed. It’s a giant light box containing a photograph of a tree from photographer Lee Friedlander’s Apples & Olives series. As impressive as the installation is, it perfectly complements the organic environment of the space.

Over the past decade, hotels like the Wynn Las Vegas, Chambers in Minneapolis, the Sagamore in Miami Beach, and the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando have all displayed extensive art collections. The Gramercy Park Hotel displays top-class artwork after renovation. In fact, the Museum of Modern Art is known to have brought a tour group to the hotel. I really call that a big compliment!

Abstract artist Lynette Shaw painted a series of eight calm, textured canvases measuring up to eight feet in diameter for the lobby and restaurant at the Wyvern Hotel in Las Vegas. Today, the artwork is the most attractive feature of the hotel. Other hotels with famous artworks include the Ace Hotel in New York with four art-centric buildings. The Pod Hotel in New York is also showing frameless art. Artist JM Rizzi has painted city scenes and abstract shapes directly onto the walls of the lobby and corridors.

Most hotels commission and collect art to highlight the elements of the city within the hotels. In some cases, they create a visual record of the rapidly evolving neighborhood. In South Miami, for example, owner Michael Achenbaum commissioned Deborah Anderson, a London-based multimedia artist, to photograph some of the area’s Art Deco architecture, and also staged shots of tattooed models with 1950s hair and clothing. The photographer eventually assembled 300 photographs that were processed into the 2,800 prints that would be hung throughout Gansevoort South.

Art in Indian hotels

If you’re wondering where India stands in terms of integrating arts into hospitality, we have some standout examples of our own. And why not! Indians have a reputation for being artistic and we have some of the finest examples of architecture in the world. We never fall behind when it comes to showcasing artistic talent on the walls of our hotels.

Take the Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad for example. In a country famed for the creative sensibility of the Nizams, the hotel lives up to its legacy and heritage. Falaknuma’s frescoed ceilings, carved furniture and Venetian chandeliers will delight art lovers. The library at the hotel is a replica of Windsor Castle in the UK and houses 6,000 books. You are free to visit the Falaknuma Palace accompanied by the hotel historian who will take you on a journey into the past and provide you with stories from days gone by.

Another name that comes to mind is the ITC Maurya in the capital of India. As you enter the hotel lobby, you are greeted by the stunning visual spectacle of Krishen Khanna, The Great Procession – a rich depiction of the vibrant life of India. But your artistic experience doesn’t end here. There are other exemplary works scattered throughout the hotel, including Tyeb Mehta’s painting “Bull in the Landscape” and AR Ramachandran’s Ashoka “After Kalinga War” – a sculpture engraved with Ashoka’s anti-war inscriptions in Devanagri.

Brilliant art exhibitions in hotels never end. It is significant for their identity and their being. In fact, artists consider it an achievement to have their paintings hung in famous hotel chains. The mix of art in hotels makes them an up and coming place where people want to spend their holidays. And in many cases, it’s an integral part of the memories a traveler takes home when they leave the hotel.