Interior Trend: Artist-Led

Spaces
New openings founded by artists, photographers, designers
and gallerists offer gently immersive interiors that convey
the creative experience through spatial design

Catrin Davies
02.27.23 - 10 minutes

La Societa delle Api

Analysis
Art has a compound effect on users of a space - it can be a branding signpost
(91% of business leaders believe it’s valuable when a space becomes known for a
piece of artwork) while also providing individually enriching experiences for the
consumer.

How will the imagination age impact hospitality? In the era of the experience economy,
the art-filled hospitality space has become ubiquitous. However, a new generation of art-
centric destinations moves the trend in a new direction. Artist or gallerist-run venues
take a more intellectual approach, running a curator’s eye over spaces to create
contemporary and refined experiences that evoke the spirit of the artist’s studio or
collector’s gallery.
Drawing on past studies that have found a correlation between exposure to art and
positive mental health, and the benefits of frequent travel, new venues provide
enriching experiences with art. They share a sense of wellbeing and community
cultivated through art-leaning interiors and experiences at all market sectors, from
luxury hotel brands to indie boutiques.
Booking.com’s Travel Predictions for 2023 highlights the growing urgency for mindful
and transformative travel – particularly important in the post-pandemic, polycrisis era.
The survey found that 80% of travellers want community-minded experiences, with a
third of respondents (32%) prioritising transformative travel. Designers are pulling
these strands together to create mindful spaces that are focused on art and creativity,
harnessing its power to inspire, inform and leave a lasting impression.
What this means for you: as consumers seek out more mindful experiences,
Numeroventi
destinations that offer space for reflection and creativity will continue to be in high
demand. This report highlights the key openings that represent a new direction for art
hospitality, leaning into current consumer drivers for slow, mindful creativity and
social reconnection.

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The creator’s unique vision
Inspired by the creator’s unique vision, hotels and dining spaces are being
shaped with a clear sense of authorship and becoming living embodiments of the
artist’s taste and style.

Laurence Leenaert, founder and head designer of lifestyle brand LRNCE, will transfer
her unique style to a Marrakech riad in 2023. Named Rosemary, the intimate and
upscale hotel will embody the Belgian designer’s bold aesthetic and commitment to
artisanal techniques. Every element of the space is being designed in-house and will
incorporate Morocco-made ceramics, textiles and furniture in the brand’s signature
earthy palette and rustic, handmade finish.
British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare has imprinted his oeuvre on the dining room at
Vermelho Hotel
Sketch, London. The artist tackles the issues of colonialism and postcolonial identity
through 15 site-specific works, including hand-painted wooden masks and framed
quilts. Caverswall ceramic tableware has also been given the Shonibare treatment,
featuring a Dutch wax batik pattern that is a recurring motif in his work.
The next creative project for famed footwear designer Christian Louboutin has been the
interiors of the newly opened Vermelho Hotel in Melides, Portugal. The 13-room
boutique hotel encapsulates Louboutin’s rich eye for detail and appreciation for heritage
– he personally sourced or commissioned all of the art, antiques and furniture to
create a multi-textural moodboard of North African-meets-European style. The
designer’s signature colour of red is used as a sophisticated accent (Vermelho means red
in Portuguese) rather than a branding signpost.
How you can action this:
Sketch LRNCE
Consider the space like an artwork to create unique interior experiences that
immerse users in the artist’s universe
Take a refined approach, curating a space like a moodboard that pulls together
different inspirations and references

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Creativity for self-care
Combining transformative travel and mindful wellbeing, we see a surge in
hospitality experiences that centre creativity as a pathway to self-care.

British photographer Kate Bellm applies this approach to the curation of Hotel Corazon
– a Mallorcan hotel, farm, restaurant, store and art space, set to open this year. Along
with the artist and chef Magnus Reid, Bellm is creating a rural destination for creative
travellers that will encourage artistic reflection and offer "everything from pickling to
photography". Working with local and friend artists, the space will reflect Bellm’s
passion for the island through slow craft and contemporary art.
Villa Lena in Tuscany has become established as a retreat for of-the-moment artists and
creatively minded travellers thanks to its blend of art, nature and culture. The interior,
Villa Lena
by French designer Clarisse Demory, is light and subtle, in order to convey a sense of
relaxation and creative contemplation. Soft colours, handcrafted wooden elements,
vintage furniture and local arts and crafts objects create a simple and curated
aesthetic.
Danh Vo, a contemporary artist of Vietnamese descent, has created a pastoral artistic
idyll in the German countryside with the realisation of a farmhouse artist residency. Vo
has crafted a slow, mindful ambience that allows visitors – chefs, writers, fellow artists –
to create in peace. A raw aesthetic prevails, with exposed brick and poured concrete
providing a backdrop to hanging and potted plants, iconic design furniture and pieces
handmade by Vo himself. New wooden architectural structures, washed with matte
black paint, contrast with the original farmhouse stonework.
How you can action this:
Villa Lena Hotel Corazon
Use a muted and neutral palette to create a quiet, reflective ambience. Incorporate
local elements, from antiques to contemporary craft objects, to add conversational
detail
Embed sustainability throughout. Incorporate renewable energy, water recycling
systems, and circular design principles

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The modern salon
Fine dining spaces are hitching their reputations, and aesthetics, on art-world
connections. Spaces are low-key and subtle, with minimal architectural
interventions and restrained art curation.

Attracting the fashion and art world elites, Horses in West Hollywood has cultivated a
scene of cool sophistication. In the main dining room, a specially commissioned series
of equestrian-themed oil paintings by Kacper Abolik (who has previously collaborated
with Dior and JW Anderson) and pops of primary-coloured seating add character to the
otherwise traditional European feel. Underscoring the creative spirit, guests are
offered packets of crayons to draw on the tablecloths.
Frieze founders Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover transport the 20th-century
Sessions Arts Club Horses
Parisian avant-garde to central London, in the restaurant Toklas. Inspired by the dinner
parties hosted by writer Alice B Toklas in the early 20th century, the restaurant
emphasises creative connection and conversation over bold interiors. Opting for a
pared-back, canteen-like aesthetic in keeping with the building’s brutalist architecture,
the simple dining room is dominated by Wolfgang Tillmans’ oversize Pomodoro (1993)
and a display of the owner’s’ collection of art exhibition posters.
There is a raw decadence to restaurant and art gallery Sessions Art Club in Clerkenwell,
London. The collaboration between artist Jonny Gent, St. JOHN co-founder Jon Spiteri
and architect Russell Potter brings together the worlds of art, design and food in a
space that proudly displays its patina through exposed plaster walls and salvaged
furniture. The rough-luxe aesthetic is accented by a curation of contemporary artworks
which changes seasonally, along with the art-inspired menu.
Horses Toklas
How you can action this:
Collaborate with rising and cult art world names to establish a reputation for
vanguard creativity
Pursue a look of imperfection and patina that conjures a spontaneous creative
response rather than a manufactured, highly polished finish

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The curated universe
Hospitality venues hitched to art world brands (and vice versa) reinforce art
world connections, to express luxury and exclusivity.

Hauser & Wirth gallery owners Manuela and Iwan Wirth continue to expand their
hospitality portfolio (under the Artfarm banner) with new openings in Los Angeles and a
takeover of London’s iconic Groucho Club. Each venue is unique to its location but is
woven through with contemporary artworks from the Hauser & Wirth collection to
create the experience of dining or staying in a living gallery. Artfarm puts a historical
twist on the redesign of The Audley gastro-pub (and upstairs dining space, Mount St.
Restaurant) in Mayfair, where the 18th-century inn is a contrast of original features and
contemporary interventions, including a psychedelic ceiling installation from Phyllida
Fort Road Hotel Mount St. Restaurant
Barlow and a floor mosaic by Rashid Johnson.
Frieze founder Matthew Slotover continues to expand beyond the gallery with the
opening of the 14-room Fort Road Hotel in Margate. The hotel echoes the aesthetic of
Toklas, with a clean and modernist approach that is becoming the curator’s signature.
Midcentury furniture, natural materials and a soothing palette are paired with
carefully considered works by leading and cutting-edge artists from Tracey Emin to
local Lindsey Mendick.
In recent years London’s iconic Claridge's hotel has claimed a stake in the contemporary
art world with the opening of a John Pawson-design in-house gallery, Claridge's ArtSpace
where it presents contemporary artworks. The hotel has expanded its art universe to
include The Painter’s Room bar and an ArtSpace cafe as it reshapes its luxury image
around the art world.
The Audley Claridge's Hotel
How you can action this:
Use art as an accent rather than an anchor, streamlining curation to emphasise key
works
Maintain your specific brand identity when expanding beyond the gallery (or into
the gallery) to create an authentic universe that makes sense to the consumer

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The artist's studio
Sophisticated hospitality spaces are inspired by the simplicity and minimal spirit
of the artist’s studio, with lots of natural lighting, muted colours and natural
finishes.

Numeroventi is a Florentine art residence, co-working space, gallery and boutique

hotel that immerses visitors in a diffused, sun-bleached colour palette and natural,
organic materials. The aim is to bring artists back to the “essence of their profession”
by creating a sense of calm and clarity. Guests sleep on low-level platform beds with
washed linen sheets, in rooms minimally furnished with natural, worn materials such as
reclaimed wood and antiques sourced from Europe. The pared-back atmosphere is
contrasted by the centuries-old ceiling frescos.
Hôtel des Académies et des Arts
At the Hotel des Academies et des Arts in Paris, close links are forged with the nearby
Académie de la Grande Chaumiè to offer guests creative workshops and curated
exhibitions. For the hotel, architect Stéphanie Lizée of Lizée-Hugot has imagined the
space as an artist’s studio to create a subtle, pared-back environment of hand-plastered
walls and bespoke furniture that offsets a mixed curation of artworks. It is part hotel
and part creative retreat that references Montparnasse’s rich artistic history.
4rooms in Kastellorizo, Greece, is a living canvas for artists, architects and designers
who were invited by the nonprofit La Società delle Api (SDA) to develop their creative
vision in a collaborative environment. The resulting interiors are an expression of each
artist or collective’s unique style, merging the island’s architectural heritage and
traditional crafts. Minimal yet vibrant, the overall aesthetic reflects the colours and
textures of the harbour. An earthy colour palette is contrasted with vivid aquamarine
and pastels and a mix of custom-designed furniture pieces. Numeroventi La Societa delle Api

How you can action this:

Recreate the atmosphere of an artist’s studio with palette beds, natural lighting,
organic materials and a neutral colour palette
Integrate studio spaces for spontaneous creativity

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Action points

Curate artfully Take a gentle approach Look beyond the art world Cultivate creativity

Curate spaces like a moodboard to
reflect the wider inspirations of the
artist. Focus on introducing tactile,
crafted elements that look and feel
human-made
Help consumers prioritise their Invite a broader spectrum of creatives, Build practical spaces for studio time
wellbeing, by creating spaces that feel from fashion designers to poets, and artistic workshops. Collaborate with
calming and foster creativity ceramicists and chefs, to make creative local art and design schools to run
contributions to your space workshops and classes

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