Art concept Hotel am Schlossgarten

Art in a Realm of Tension Between Economic Boost and Self-Fulfilment

Stuttgart | ALTHOFF HOTEL COLLECTION 2012

Image rights: Wolfgang Stahr

©: Detlef aus dem Kahmen

Markus Hilzinger is exceptionally proud of the pieces of art in the Stuttgart Hotel am Schlossgarten. The five-star luxury hotel is situated in the centre of the green parkway Schlossgarten in the heart of the regional capital.

The house with a rich tradition was built in the Sixties and considers itself reminiscence to the ambitious and eventful years of the German economic miracle.
The optimistic and sparkling esprit of the Fifties and Sixties gave the inspiration for the interior design and the hotel’s art concept. Going far beyond the decorative purpose of popular hotel art, the works tell a story about the power of a new beginning and about the opportunity to create a brand new world.

©: Wolfgang Stahr

The original graphic prints, oil paintings and linocut prints spotlight the remodelled rooms with attention to detail, creating a luxurious interior that reflects the true spirit of the Sixties while radiating a modern kind of elegance. The curated hanging and blending of various techniques and themes creates an enthralling dialog between the pieces of art and shows a narrative panorama of the Sixties’ visions.
The German painter Robert Keil is capable of brushing aside the rotten worlds and old dust traps of the mind using brilliant colours, impulsive brushwork and an unconventional emphasis and imagery. His painted phantasies show facets of geometrical and amorphous shapes, pushing the realistic images further and further into the background. The famous Zirbelstube is one of the hotel’s highlights. Sebastian Prüßmann orchestrates the delightful culinary moments in the lively and inviting ambience of the star-rated gourmet restaurant. The expressive combination of heavy Swiss pine wood panelling and modern art skilfully blends the Swabian cosiness together with a twist of glamourous feeling.

Various artists from all over Europe are represented on the walls of the Zirbelstube in a colourful and true-to-the-style collage of original pieces of art. Since none of the works are older than from the 1950s, they give the restaurant a unique identity, making it into a kind of Stuttgart “La Coupole”.

A collection of colourful sculptural vases made of glass and porcelain complement the ensemble. The artists’ optimistic and future-oriented view reflects the common feeling of those days. “In times of countless visions you cannot separate the people from their abstract ideas and materializing thoughts” says Hilzinger. That is why the viewer encounters expressive portraits side by side with constructivist settings and impulsive organic images in the truest sense of the informal, fully abandoning any reference to the human shape and the graphic. The cosmopolitan artist Felicia Pacanowska, too, plays with the detachment from a physical shape language, creating a geometrical flow that offers her virtually unlimited freedom of design.
The at times provocative contrasts between the pieces of art in the Zirbelstube create a dialectic tension, while the subdued light in the private rooms generates an atmosphere of privacy. Celebrities from politics and culture appreciate this very much.

In the special edition 2012/10 of the BEST OF GERMANY magazine, the design... received a special award for the interior of the excellent gourmet restaurant in the Zirbelstube.
“The masterpiece is the Zirbelstube with a mix from spotted Swiss pine wood and artfully placed graphic reproductions and oil paintings that will leave no guest untouched.” Karin Jäger, travel journalist

The curated display continues in the restaurant’s foyer. Abstract still life paintings depict moments of frozen time. The powerful and mysterious oil paintings by Sanli Balci, an artist raised in Istanbul, appear to be abstract snapshots of unknown places and people from the bird’s-eye perspective.
Upon entering the private dining area, the guests find themselves face to face with the stylised portraits showing the Berlin painter Detlef aus dem Kahmen. This art literally promotes exchange and dialogue between the portrayed person and the beholder.

The intuitive depiction of human features creates the desired intimacy for a private culinary experience. The black and white linocut prints in the Schlossgarten restaurant grapple with the creation of the new by a process of experimenting while playing with the aspect of coincidence and unpredictability. “The works of the Berlin artist Wilhelm Beestermöller set a graphic counterpoint to the original wrought iron grills.” AD 2012. Every picture is a unique piece made especially for the hotel.

Planning & Realization FINE ROOMS GmbH Berlin Germany

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