Satomi Tanji’s work "COFFEE BLUE"
When you stay at a hotel, you may notice art decorating the walls of the lobby, hallways, or guest rooms.
Some rooms feature a single large painting, while others showcase a combination of photographs or graphics. The way art is presented varies from hotel to hotel.
So, why do hotels display art?
To fill empty walls. To make a space look elegant. Of course, those are part of the role.
However, as we look closer at hotel art, we can see that it serves a somewhat greater purpose.
Conveying "What Kind of Place" the Hotel Is
When observing hotel art, it is common to find establishments that place great importance on their connection to the local area.
Take the Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo, for example.
The guest rooms feature line drawings by Nobumasa Takahashi, which depict Ginza through four lenses: "MEDIA," "ENTERTAINMENT," "LANDSCAPE," and "FASHION." Instead of framing the original drawings directly, the works are transferred onto the fusuma (sliding doors) of the guest rooms.
In this way, the history and character of the Ginza district are integrated into the rooms themselves.
At Hotel Indigo Nagasaki Glover Street, the wall behind the bed in each guest room features graphics themed around the city’s past, such as Nagasaki’s mountains, harbor, and foreign ships. The furniture and lighting also incorporate motifs that reflect Nagasaki’s culture.
Here, art is not simply used to decorate the walls, but serves to communicate the memory and identity of the location, saying:
"This is a hotel located in Ginza."
"This is a hotel located in Nagasaki."
It’s Not Just About Expensive Originals in Guest Rooms
When people think of hotel art, they might imagine expensive original paintings.
However, looking at guest rooms, that is not all there is to it.
At The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Nashville, the guest rooms and suites combine prints from fine art publisher Joseph Editions with works selected from the hotel's collection. Each guest room contains at least one print by an artist with ties to Tennessee.
ONE FUKUOKA HOTEL features works by contemporary artist Noritaka Tatehana throughout the premises. Three types of letterpress prints are used in the guest rooms, creating a world tied to the history and culture of Tenjin, the area where the hotel is located.
Four Seasons Hotel Madrid also uses reproductions of selected works for its guest rooms and suites. Meanwhile, for special suites, restaurants, and public spaces, they commission artists to create works specifically for those areas.
The guest room art we have looked at includes prints, reproductions, and graphics transferred onto walls.
What they all have in common is that the selection criteria is not based solely on the works being "one-of-a-kind originals."
Is "Posters Look Cheap" Really True?
When one hears the term "mass-produced art poster," it is not surprising that some might feel it seems a bit cheap for a hotel guest room.
An original painting that exists as a single piece and an art poster with mass-produced identical prints differ in their rarity and how they are treated in the art market.
However, the value as an art piece and the power to improve a space cannot be measured by the same yardstick.
In a hotel guest room, art does not exist in isolation.
There is the color of the walls, the bed, the chairs, and the lighting—and within that, a single picture.
Which work to choose?
How large should it be?
What kind of frame to use?
How to coordinate it with the furniture and wall colors?
These elements combine to create a single space.
Judging the caliber of a space solely by whether a work is an original or a reproduction might be a bit too simplistic.
It Is Not About Price, But How You Choose
Original works have their own unique value.
They are singular pieces born from the artist's own hand. They possess the texture of the paint and the movement of the brush as part of the work itself. There is also value in owning them as art.
However, simply hanging an expensive, high-priced piece does not automatically make for a good guest room.
At The Aoyama Grand Hotel, to align with an interior design conscious of the 1980s Aoyama culture, the hallways display posters of the "NT" chair, which was released by arflex in 1977.
Here, the poster is not merely a cheap substitute, but an element used to convey the era and culture the hotel aims to express.
Ultimately, the question is not about the price, but about what you choose and where you place it.
What Is Required of Hotel Art
A hotel is not a place like a museum where you only appreciate the works; it is a place for sleeping, eating, and conversing with others.
Therefore, what is required of art here is not just the value of the work itself.
Does it evoke a sense of the local area?
Does it harmonize with the furniture and architecture?
Does it convey the hotel's philosophy?
Does it leave an impression on the time spent there?
When you see a picture in a hotel, you might feel the room is comfortable without even knowing its price or how it was produced.
Conversely, no matter how expensive a piece may be, if it does not fit the location, it cannot be said to make the space attractive.
The reason hotels display art.
It is not just to show that they possess expensive works.
It is to communicate "what kind of place" the hotel is, without using words.
That is why I believe that what is needed there is not necessarily expensive original works, but the one piece that is perfect for that space.
Sources/References
- Nobumasa Takahashi "HYATT CENTRIC GINZA TOKYO"
- Hotel Indigo Nagasaki Glover Street "OUR HOTEL"
- The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Nashville "Rooms"
- Noritaka Tatehana "ONE FUKUOKA HOTEL"
- Four Seasons Hotel Madrid "Explore the Art of Four Seasons Hotel Madrid"
- arflex "THE AOYAMA GRAND HOTEL"
