When philosopher Alain de Botton wrote the book The Art of Travel, he was musing about 'that ubiquitous but peculiar activity of travelling for pleasure', rather than anything artistic per se. But the title nicely articulates a global trend encapsulating travel for both pleasure and cultural appreciation- that of art hotels, wherein public areas have been transformed into gallery space.
Imaginative hotel interiors have long captured the attention of globe-hoppers. Guests can wake up to the steely gaze of an oversized manga cartoon at Hotel Fox in Copenhagen, Denmark; nod off while staring at a fairy tale intricately recreated on the ceilings of Atelier Sul Mare in Sicily; and make love in a Parisian boudoir at Hotel du Petit Moulin, a bolt hole ostentatiously decorated by designer Christian Lacroix. But the current trend goes beyond the safe creative haven of themed suites and well-conceived interiors into the more highbrow arena of art appreciation. Hotel owners, often collectors themselves, are committing paintings, sculptures and installations to spaces commonly set aside for a generic lamp, two-seater couch, newspaper rack and coffee table.
Of course, the art hotel is not a new concept. La Colombe d'Or, in Saint-Paul de Vence, near Nice, France, started life in the 1920s as a restaurant and small inn. Its owner's artistic sensibilities attracted local artists who, it is related, handed over pieces of work in exchange for board. During the war years, the south of France's 'free zone' status attracted prominent thinkers and creative types and La Colombe's walls soon became a who's who of artistic guests, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso included.
In Italy's 48-year-old Rome Cavalieri, old master paintings hang amid centuries-old furniture, rare tapestries and other artefacts 'mostly purchased at Christie's and Sotheby's'. Numbering 5,000 pieces, the Cavalieri's is the largest private collection within a hotel. Guests check-in while gazing at paintings by 18th-century Italian landscape painter Giuseppe Zais and enjoy lunch surrounded by works by 18th-century Rococo painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
The new guard of art hotels might not have a Matisse in the bar or a Tiepolo in the dining room but they are nourished and sustained by a growing public passion for art. This is the case nowhere more so than in China, where a number of hotels are riding an exponential wave of interest in contemporary art.
The Opposite House opened in 2008 and gave young contemporary artists an unlikely platform- the hotel's ground floor as a gallery. Its fashion- and textile-inspired works reflect the hotel's location, in Beijing's Sanlitun shopping area. They also demonstrate a willingness to court cutting-edge themes through art and, importantly, a confidence in their guests to appreciate it.
