SUBSTANTIATING IDENTITY: Behind the Scenes of a Hospitality Art Commission 30 Years in the Making
Audra Kiewiet de Jonge with BETWEEN HARMONY AND INVENTION, by ROSALIND TALLMADGE FOR THE OPUS ONE ROTUNDA.
ART HAS THE POWER TO TELL YOUR STORY LIKE NO OTHER MEDIUM.
Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster and retained 65% longer than any other form of communication.
Harnessing that visual storytelling for a brand is an exercise I absolutely love.
I LOVE hospitality projects. There’s such an opportunity to do something creatively groundbreaking, visually arresting and to create a sensitive connection between a brand/place and art as experience. The intellectual challenge and rigor of research it requires to match the perfect artist with a brand’s identity ignites such a passionate wellspring of creativity for me in my work.
Creating an elevated, transporting guest experience through the uniting of art with it’s environment is a joy and thrill. I also really love collaboration—multiple heads and minds are usually better than one. Collaborating with a client’s architect and interior designer on large-scale commissions allows for such incredible results that could not be achieved without the deep expertise and vision we each bring to the project.
I wanted to share with you a bit more about the behind the scenes process that went into a recent monumental hospitality project for a storied winery.
"This art has completely
transformed the space.
I simply can’t imagine it not being here."
It was such a joy to hear these words from a member of the hospitality team. This suite of five 10-foot tall panels by Rosalind Tallmadge really do feel like they’ve always been there and that the room was made for them. The reality is that this project was years in the making and these niches stood empty for nearly 30 years.
considering artist samples in the empty niches
“I wanted the right artist
for the project and the client,
someone whose work already existed in a symbiotic relationship
with the experience we wanted to create for guests—
not simply an artist that could do the project.”
—Audra Kiewiet de Jonge in conversation with Ted Loos for Galerie Magazine.
The first thing I do with a project like this is a deep analysis of the brand’s mission, current client experience, and identity. I minored in psychology (just a few courses shy of a triple major) and I love the process of thinking about how a brand’s perspective translates to a visual experience. The key is to make sure that the art and brand/guest experience complement and augment each other. The sum should be greater than the parts and not map too literally or directly.
The other key perspective in my work is to look at what isn’t there. What’s missing is the lynchpin in making something that has felt empty and disconnected feel whole. In this case, we wanted to take a transitional space that was thought of as “loud, cold, austere, functionless” and make it stand out to the guest experience while reinforcing the ethos of the winery and its winemaking, and the invitation to linger that is so central to the tasting experience at Opus One. I also noted that the winery’s collection overall needed to be expanded to include more work by underrepresented artists.
After taking in the architecture and interiors and connecting with the architect and designer, the next phase is the research and art sourcing. This can take a while, but it is worth the investment of time and thoughtfulness. When I was interviewed by Ted Loos for a piece he wrote for Galerie about this project, he was fascinated by Tallmadge’s work and very keen to know how I came to select her. He was stunned to hear that I hadn’t had a previous connection with her and went outside of my existing network of art world friends and partnerships to bring her into the project. I told him that I wanted the right artist for the project and the client, someone whose work already existed in a symbiotic relationship with the experience we wanted to create for guests—not simply an artist that could do the project.
The next step was to convince the client to take a chance on a relatively unknown artist. Based in Brooklyn, young, female, interested in fashion and decay—on the surface perhaps an unlikely fit, but in situ, the unexpected match is breathtakingly obvious and transforms the rotunda while illustrating the alchemy that is the art of fine winemaking.
ROSALIND TALLMADGE
BETWEEN HARMONY AND INVENTIONDrawing inspiration from the winery’s ethos of each Opus One vintage as a unique and exceptional expression of time and place, the five monumental panels represent the cycle of the seasons and the relationship between terroir and the time-honored craft of fine wine.
Using the old-world process of gilding in combination with materials and pigments sourced from nature, the artist manipulates sequined fabric to dazzling effect–creating quietly luminous surfaces that subtly sculpt the California light. Only fully realized in situ, the viewer’s experience of the works undergoes subtle transformations with the passing of each hour and season as natural light illuminates the works from the oculus above. This fluidity of form and experience within each painting evokes the ineffable influences of nature, time and place in Opus One’s pursuit of one wine of absolute quality. The works are an invitation to linger, to enjoy, to revel in complexity that is revealed over time.
Written by Audra Kiewiet de Jonge
AUDRA KIEWIET DE JONGE IN FRONT OF A WORK BY ROSALIND TALLMADGE COMMISSIONED FOR THE OPUS ONE ROTUNDA. PHOTOGRAPHy BY BORIS ZHARKOV.
Art/artefact is a nationally recognized art advisory and interior design practice founded by Audra Kiewiet de Jonge and known for placing a great collection at the heart of every interior.
Formally trained as a painter and an art historian, Audra’s modern sensibility is informed by her historical perspective—bringing art and objects into context and conversation with the way we live today.
Working with private and corporate clients nationally, our interiors are meticulously curated and expertly built to be high on artistry, but not on pretense.
Use the link above to contact Audra, or email audra@artartefact.com directly, with interest in this project or to share information about your own project.
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