| Paintings and sculptures displayed in city hotels reflect their personality |
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ART AT home reflects a persons taste and personality and, of course, buying power. Why should it be any different for a hotel, which aims to be a temporary home for its guests? The artworks displayed at hotels are not just decorative items, but are an extension of the hotels personality, an indicator of how the hotel wants to position itself. We look at a few hotels in the city that have artistic creations on display on their premises.
Taj Mahal Palace & Tower
The Taj has an invaluable collection dating back to the Sixties, according to art curator Mortimer Chatterjee of Bowring Auction House. "It was JRDs sister Rodabeh who came up with the idea of collecting and commissioning artists." Spread across the reception area is an MF Husain panel in his signature bright colours, titled Three Stanzas of the New Millennium. Manmeet K Siddhu, public relations executive, says, "Husain stayed in the hotel for six months and he painted the enormous canvas for the centennial celebrations of the Taj." Walk into the poolside area and youll see Raza and Shreshtas Abstracts, Most of the furniture in the Palace Lobby is antique with VS Gaitonde canvas and the beautiful chandeliers. Farhat Jamal, area director, Mumbai Hotels, The Taj Mahal Palace & Towers, says, "It all started with wanting to enhance the corridors. The paintings we got then were very cheap. But today they have grown in value." True to its name, the Taj is a palace full of treasure.
The Oberoi and Hilton Towers
The Oberoi and Hilton Towers is a business-centric hotel, not conceived with the purpose of accommodating art. The hotel does have an Art Gallery, which gives aspiring artists a chance to exhibit their works in the walkway between the Oberoi and the Hilton. An art camp is held in association with Gallery Beyond once a year. Artworks are sparse in the old Oberoi, but what there is, enhances the brisk yet luxurious feel of the hotel. Ram Kumars cityscapes and works of later artists like Sanjay Bhattacharjee and Bose Krishnamachari are in the collection. A sculpture by Amarnath Sehgal stands in the atrium.
Grand Hyatt
Probably contains the biggest collection of modern art works in the country. The installations, especially, are awesome. At the entrance is the Sadashiva icon, deconstructed and seen as fragments of a puzzle coming together into a whole. As you walk into the lobby, at both ends is the Yogadakshinamurthi by Sheetal Gattani and Rajeev Sethi, who is also curator of the place. The stunning Cosmos Within in the central courtyard is Andrew Logans depletion of Shivas abode. The complex showcases over 100 commissioned works of art by artists such as Jitish Kallat, Hema Upadhyay, Anju Dodiya and Jaideep Mehrotra. The collection reinforces Hyatts image as a hotel for those who blend prosperity with modern tastes. The Grand Hyatt, in fact, has an advantage over the rest, since every nook and cranny of the hotel was meant to hold a work of art.
ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton
The hotel has some stellar works from the Pune Museum and also from the Warli village in Maharashtra, which are part of its theme decor. Bindu Panicker, marketing communications manager, says that the hotel has tried to capture the spirit of the city while also retaining the grandeur of the days of Shivaji. At the lobby stands the Maratha Warrior horse. Traditional, hand-woven Paithani saris adorn the lobby and other guest areas. Interestingly placed is a glass etching in the old Modi script of the poem Tree of Life. Modi, we are told, is even older than the Devnagari script. In a throwback to the Raj, one of the restaurants in the hotel, Peshwa Pavilion, is decorated with old punkahs and jharokhas. People sometimes think it is reminiscent of the Mughal era, but Panicker says that you see the same structure in the old lanes of Pydhonie in Mumbai.
So rich are these hotels in things of beauty that one wishes they would have art walks-these stunning creations deserve to be seen even by those who are not guests. Or else, in a carefully put together decor, the art sometimes blends too well with the usual plush furniture and chandeliers.
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