|
|
May 2, 2014
Art takes centre stage
An iconic square in Tel Aviv gets a makeover.
JEFFREY F. BARKEN JNS.ORG
The Norman Tel Aviv (thenorman.com), a luxurious boutique hotel, has restored two buildings on Nachmani Street, at the heart of the Tel Aviv UNESCO heritage site for historic Bauhaus architecture. The newly renovated hotel’s management are also dedicated patrons of the arts, seeking to support contemporary artistic expression in Israel. When complete, the complex will be a travel destination that houses and showcases many avant-garde cultural treasures.
“Tremendous care has been taken to restore these buildings to their original grandeur, preserving the eclectic style, Renaissance and oriental influences that characterize the edifice at #23 Nachmani, as well as the striking modernist architecture of the adjacent building at #25,” said Olivier Heuchenne, managing director of the Norman.
The hotel – whose grand opening is planned for this summer – will sport an interior design echoing the luxury and style of the grand hotels of the early 20th century, featuring top restaurants, an extraordinary collection of Israeli artwork, an elegant library bar and the Norman’s signature world-class amenities.
The art collection, comprised of more than 100 works, stands at the centre of this accomplishment, uniting design themes and creating an interactive experience for guests. Featured are works by Ilit Azoulay, Sigalit Landau, Klone, Dana Levy, Assaf Shaham and Tsibi Geva, among others, celebrating a class of leading contemporary Israeli artists whose work is exhibited worldwide.
For Tamar Dresdner, the in-house art curator and consultant tasked with selecting works for display, the opportunity to partake in the restoration is a dream come true. “I’ve been living in Tel Aviv for years,” she said in an interview. “I remember walking past these buildings when they were residential properties and then entering them when they housed offices for businesses and lawyers. I always fantasized about what could be done with the space.”
Mindful of the layered history that defines the new hotel’s premises, Dresdner sought works she felt were in dialogue with the buildings. “Since we have an eclectic-style building, I wanted eclectic art,” she explained. This meant acquiring works of assorted media, including video, sculpture, photography and paintings.
In contrast to other hotels that typically hang commercially reproduced prints and stock décor, Dresdner has taken significant risks in her selection, making the collection reflective of Israel’s fractious interior social dialogue, as well as an open-ended commentary on the country’s precarious economic and political situation. “A work, even in a hotel, should challenge the viewer,” Dresdner said. In Israel, “we are sitting on a powder keg. Art should ask questions, not offer answers, directing the viewer to places that are not clear, that are edgy and explosive.”
A small sampling of the collection reveals a wide breadth of styles and themes.
Paintings by Geva offer penetrating glimpses into Israel’s communities, for example. “Tsibi is very influenced by American abstract paintings, but he is also very local. His work addresses political issues and is very rooted in this place.” Landau’s salt-crystal sculptures and videos draw from the Dead Sea landscape and mythology. Works by the graffiti artist Klone, meanwhile, provide a fresh perspective of Israel’s melting pot immigrant heritage and the collision of disparate cultural populations in Israel’s cities. “An immigrant himself, Klone’s works mirror the alienation of urban life and explore the difficulty of assimilation,” Dresdner noted.
Azoulay’s photography in the collection captures a particular sensitivity for the artifacts of urban decay, she continued. “The artist goes into dilapidated buildings, discovers objects and then, by shooting each one separately and digitally reassembling them, creates a new reality from the city’s demolished environments.”
To mimic the series of modernist windows on the larger building at #25, Dresdner was attracted to sequential compositions that extend the prevailing color scheme composed of pleasant blues, browns, cream and pinks. Likewise, renowned British designer David d’Almada of Sagrada was conscious of the patterns found in the salvaged and refurbished antique tile floors. He cleverly designed curtains and bedspreads that duplicate geometric shapes and colors, blending textured elements in harmony with the elegant and conceptual artwork.
The Norman’s management made a point of supporting Israeli artists through the collection. In a rare occurrence in the art world, 95 percent of the collection has been purchased directly from the artists. “When you ask an artist to loan their work, you are manipulating them,” Dresdner said, explaining the opportunity cost absorbed by artists when their work lingers on someone else’s walls without promise of remuneration. “We made a point of buying from artists.”
The collection will have a permanent and prominent presence in the city, attracting collectors, critics and art enthusiasts. By request, Dresdner will provide tailored art tours based on each guest’s specific interests, and the artists whose work is displayed frequently will be invited to participate in sponsored events.
To establish a tradition in Israel that supports and appreciates the arts has proven challenging. External pressures and internal discord relentlessly stress the country’s people and resources, distracting from their enthusiasm for artistic and visionary talent. But the Norman Tel Aviv is hoping to create a promising mechanism for promoting emerging artists, and to arouse intrigue and acclaim by promoting discussion of themes pertinent to Israel’s existential crisis. Furthermore, the hotel management’s financial investment in artists will continue past this summer’s grand opening, according to Heuchenne, who noted the Norman’s plans to offer an annual prize to “celebrate an artist’s success and promote their continued development.”
^top
|
|
