KUNST IM HOTEL. ART IN THE HOTEL. Why do we do that?

What are you looking at?

There is something to look at. A whole lot. And it’s worth looking at.
Since we took over the hotel in June 2009, we have been showing ART IN THE HOTEL. Twice a year, an artist takes over our house for 6 months and presents her or his art in a solo exhibition. Thus, the entire public area of our hotel becomes a flexible visual art space that changes anew with every new exhibition.
The variety of contemporary artistic expression is reflected in very different exhibitions in the diverse genres of painting, drawing, graphic art and photography.
We are always happy when new works of art “move in” with us and offer our guests an interesting and inspiring view. In fact, the house seems to change with every single exhibition, truly changing its “face”. It always takes some time for the new works to actually “move in” with us. Figurative or abstract, rich colour rush or delicate drawing. Watercolour, lithography, collage or photography. Sprayed art on large canvas which, by the way, seemed almost (too) small to the artist Dominik Hebestreit. And actually it was comparatively small – in contrast to his huge murals on a house wall. Lots of color or radical reduced monochrome. Oil, acrylic, crayon, pencil, ink. As diverse as the subjects and materials are the artists who have already been with us. The artists whose works we were allowed to give a “temporary home” sometimes come directly from the neighbourhood, like Mary Kruse and Marlies Blauth or Elisabeth Krogull. From Neuss like Melanie Richter. From Wuppertal like Inge Heinicke-Baldauf, Bernd Bähner, Ruth Velser, Tati Strombach-Becher, and Dominik Hebestreit and Otto Zech. Or from Hilden like Dagmar Hebestreit, from Berlin like Esther Zimmermann, from Lake Constance like Claudia Leitenstorfer or currently from Cologne like Danny Frede.

Win, Win, Win

We experience ART IN THE HOTEL as a benefit for everyone involved, a classic win-win-win situation. Yes, there are even three “win”s like in a business management textbook. And here they are, three main wins at once

First win: Our guests experience a house that is always “different” and rejoice in a changing new look that does not impose itself, but is simply present all the time. And it really is a tangible difference whether you enjoy your breakfast accompanied by a delicate watercolour painting. Or a light ink drawing or in the night-black dark blue of a large-format canvas. Yes, art is not only expansive, but touches the viewer directly.

Win No. 2: With this form of solo exhibition, the artist has the opportunity to stage works outside the studio in a special living environment that comes much closer to a private living space than the neutrality of a gallery’s white cube. How does a work look in space? In which manner does it present itself in the midst of furniture furnishings? Does it assert itself in harmony or vice versa in clear opposition?

Yes, we are aware that a breakfast room with a lot of tables and even more chairs is probably not the most common living environment. And the artists and our guests know that too. It is also not necessarily the respective style of furnishing, but simply the fact that a private living room also has furniture, a table, chairs, a sofa or armchair, that there is also a cupboard. All this makes it easier to feel and imagine how a work of art looks.

Win No. 3: We, who live and work in the hotel every day, are always looking forward to and enjoy new original art on our walls.

Very important: From our side, ART IN THE HOTEL definitely is not part of our business. We just enjoy art, and this philosophy is completely in line with our definition of “sustainability”.

No “dentist’s waiting room with the water lilies of monet”

No, this is not a plea against the omnipresent common property of the „dentist’s waiting room with the water lilies of Monet”. And even if you couldn’t unravel this word monstrosity the first time you read it. I am sure you are familiar with the phenomenon: in the excessive repetition every surprise abrades itself. We’ve seen it all before.

In this context, however, I expressly and emphatically declare that we greatly appreciate the Grand Master of Light, Claude Monet. By the way: This year, from autumn 2018, the Albertina, Vienna, is showing a very exciting special exhibition that I would like to recommend. In a retrospective with almost 100 paintings, the Albertina describes Monet’s journey from his first pre-impressionist works to his very last paintings, which he did in his garden in Giverny.

With KUNST IM HOTEL / ART IN THE HOTEL, we directly experience the uniqueness of a work of art. We are happy about the encounter with the artist. We are curious about the conversation with our guests, who attentively perceive what is hanging on our walls. It is also important to us that everyone involved feels comfortable. However, the project is not about “hanging something nice on the wall”. It is not about art as mere interior decoration, but rather about the impulse, the exchange and dialogue. And that “heart and brain” are touched and stimulated with an extraordinary view.

The day of arrival is always exciting, especially since we often do not know exactly in advance what the artist will bring. And the day of hanging off is always a bit melancholy. But then we just have to go through that as well, and something new always comes along. New ART IN THE HOTEL We can be certain about that. And as long as we don’t have to tear down walls, we stay pretty open-minded.