March 12, 2011

The Surrey Inspires With World-Class Art Collection

New York, New York – Reported by Elite Traveler, the Private Jet Lifestyle Magazine

As the Official VIP sponsor of The Armory Show 2011, held annually in New York City, The Surrey hotel is poised to offer guests an artful experience worthy of the largest modern and contemporary art show in the United States. Located in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood, the hotel recently underwent a $60 million recreation reflecting the Beaux-Arts style by renowned architectural and interior designer Lauren Rottet.

Well-known modern, contemporary and conceptual artists including Jenny Holzer, William Kentridge, Claes Oldenburg, Chuck Close, Donald Sultan, Richard Serra, Cecily Brown, Mel Bochner and Donald Baechler, all of whom have works in The Surrey’s in-house collection, will also have pieces on display at this year’s Armory Show. Additionally, the hotel’s signature armoire commissioned by London-based artists, Jimmie Karlsson and Martin Nihlman, will be relocated to the Armory Show and shown on display in the VIP lounge for the show’s duration March 2 – March 6, 2011.

Taking her cue from the surrounding neighborhood which houses some of the world’s most prestigious art museums, as part of the recreation process Rottet purchased and commissioned a number of art pieces and objet d’art to create an intimate modern art collection at the hotel. Guests can now experience both a culturally inspiring in-house art collection in addition to visiting some of the nearby museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Frick Collection.

Several highlights from this world-class art collection are displayed in the lobby of the hotel including two photographs, You Are My Own and But The Myth Of Love, by American conceptual artist, Jenny Holzer and an interactive video piece by South African artist, William Kentridge, located in a niche just before entering the hotel’s bar. In addition to the armoire, Jimmie Martin created a custom design playful chaise lounge on display in the hotel’s Presidential Suite which features a recipe for the perfect Manhattan cocktail. Guests are also greeted by a tapestry of model, designer, musician and fashion icon Kate Moss, by portrait artist Chuck Close, upon entering the lobby.

Not only an art-lover and collector, but an artist in her own right, Rottet routinely attends art shows around the world which she feels help inspire her own work. She notes, “I’m constantly fascinated by artists’ expressions of modern society which they habitually contemplate and criticize in their work. I wanted to bring a bit of this contemplation to the hotel not only through the art collection, but also in my interpretation of the hotel as a set design in which the guests become characters in a living piece of art.”