Auberge Resorts Collection, the leading brand of luxury, one-of-a-kind hotels and resorts, and global art agency, MASSIVart, unveil Auberge ArtSalon, a new cultural art program featuring a series of artist residencies and immersive installations at six iconic Auberge Resorts Collection properties around the world.
The partnership brings together emerging artists who will create thought-provoking, destination-driven art installations in landmark collaborations. Inspired by the one-of-a-kind property’s unique character, heritage and setting, each artwork pushes creative boundaries to highlight the aspects of discovery and expression common to the worlds of art and travel. Designed to delight and intrigue through unexpected encounters and eye-catching visuals, each invites moments of reflection, providing pause within the pause that is each guest’s stay.
Unveiling today, the first two installations will be revealed at Mayflower Inn & Spa, Auberge Resorts Collection in Washington, Conn. with multidisciplinary Canadian artist, Marie-Claude Marquis and Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection in Austin, Texas with Texas-born artist and photographer, Delaney Allen. Providing guests and locals with new, creative environments and experiences throughout the year, the series will continue to unfold with forthcoming installations atSolage, Auberge Resorts Collection (Napa Valley, Calif.), Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection (Los Cabos, Mexico), Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection (Los Cabos, Mexico), and Madeline Hotel & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection (Telluride, Colo.).
“A part of Auberge Resorts Collection’s foundation is its point of view on relevant design and culture. These artists are conjuring up installations that react directly with the design and environment of our properties, creating living works that engage guests and often include integral experiences,” said Kemper Hyers, chief creative officer, Auberge Resorts Collection. “That nexus of art, design and specific location adds a rich layer of conversation and enrichment for guests as they travel with us.”
Delaney Allen X Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection
At Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection in Austin, artist and photographer Delaney Allen was called on to create two deceptively illusory multi-element installations with vivid floral motifs inspired by the estate’s Jardin à la Française theme. Complementing its maximalist Ken Fulk design, the installation, ‘Reverberation,’ is inspired by the historic landmark’s 10-acres of magnificent gardens, which are omnipresent and central to the hotel’s identity. Allen photographed flowers semi-submerged in liquid baths with the rose as the central motif to create striking trompe l’oeil floral wallpapers. These adorn ceilings, walls and carefully placed objects in the mansion’s original elevator to create an immersive photo booth-style space investigating the idea of self-exploration through what we choose to mask and reveal.
A simple stroll through the mansion’s regal loggia hallway becomes a gallery-esque immersion in a floral universe. Arresting due to scale as well as artistry, ceiling panels with larger-than-life floral constellations against a midnight sky run the length of the space – out of reach, yet not quite. This petal heaven has dropped to earth a matching still life scene of armchair, table, and living bouquet. With his utilization of mirrors and camouflage— a printed bench and a bouquet of real flowers on the table disappears in the elevator and a maximalist lounge setting blends with the hallway—the installation knows no bounds.
Guests will have the unique opportunity to become part of the artwork with Polaroid Hour or portrait sessions taken within the installations every Friday. For a more in-depth experience, guests can book the two-night Portrait Session package, which includes rose water welcome drinks, an in-room floral arrangement by Gypsy Floral and a custom portrait session with Allen.
Marie-Claude Marquis X Mayflower Inn & Spa, Auberge Resorts Collection
Multidisciplinary artist Marie-Claude Marquis invites guests to achieve a more meditative effect at Mayflower Inn & Spa, Auberge Resorts Collection. The idea that being chronically busy is overhyped and in fact, counterproductive – is what has inspired Marquis to create her jewel-like treasure trove of an installation in the library of the gracious Inn. Touching both graphic design and visual arts, Marquis has a love for re-appropriating souvenirs, nostalgia, and vintage pop culture objects, prolonging their existence and reducing her environmental impact. At the Inn, her feminine touch and colorful sensitivity complement its New England country living and dramatic new interiors by acclaimed New York-based designer Celerie Kemble of Kemble Interiors.
Inspired by Mayflower Inn, Auberge Resorts Collection’s Neo-Victorian personality, Marquis has transformed the library rhythmically and retrospectively with ‘Too Tired to Sleep.’ Five different wallpapers line the library’s wall panels and shelves, their colors and motifs were chosen to highlight the room’s vintage furnishings and serve as a backdrop for the objects themselves. Placed in a rhythmic way like items on a spiritual altar, these include heterogeneous objects (some reworked, some not), dried flowers, hand-painted porcelain plates and ornaments reflecting food, time, sleep, and other aspects of self-care.
The result is a playful time warp of sorts that transports guests with cabinets of curiosity, and cherished memories of your grandmother’s cupboard, representing a life well lived. Her work provides guests with a touch of playfulness and a little lightness by adding her own often humorous typographical interventions. Marquis’ installation is a lesson in returning to a certain slowness after spending a good part of our lives idealizing being “super busy.”
“We believe in creating impactful art experiences that bring people together. We also think that now is the ideal time for hoteliers to think more innovatively by incorporating art and cultural experiences in more unexpected ways,” explains Philippe Demers, founding partner & global creative director, MASSIVart. “That is why we are thrilled to collaborate with Auberge Resorts Collection and give the selected artists carte blanche to create artworks that transform the hotel spaces while providing meaningful stories to tell, and creating an engaging conversation with guests. It will be a unique and memorable experience.”
Auberge ArtSalon will be activated at six Auberge Resorts Collection properties with installations unveiled throughout the year. Other artist residencies include:
Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection
Created by Curiot, the ever-evolving street art project born in 2007 in the city of Morelia Michoacan, this open-air installation inspired by romance in nature will appear on various steps, floors and walls of this dramatic seaside retreat.
Chileno Bay, Auberge Resorts Collection
A visual artist from Guadalajara, Mexico, Natalia Ramos will create a series of bold, monochromatic interventions to create directional pops of color and moments of wonder against the white décor of this dreamy coastal sanctuary.
Solage, Auberge Resorts Collection
Celebrating culinary art and gastronomy in the heart of Napa Valley, food is explored as a fantasy and a transportive medium to set the scene for escapism, whether tasting small production wines or cycling down winding country roads.
Madeline, Auberge Resorts Collection
Coming this holiday season, enjoy the lights in a brand new way with a custom installation to bring wonder and joy throughout the winter season.
For more information, please visit aubergeresorts.com/art-design/.
