Chambers: A Proper Art Hotel

When we visited Minneapolis recently, we were recommended to stay at the Chambers Hotel. We’ve been to the odd ‘art-hotel’ before but they pale into comparison with this place. Yes, the Fox Hotel in Copenhagen has some up and coming contemporary artists designing their rooms, but it seems rathe teenage in comparison to Chambers.

You see, when you turn up to the reception and there’s a Damien Hirst cow head behind the staff you know you’re on a different level. And while you wait, you get to see a sublime Gary Hume piece.

The place is packed full of YBA and key contemporary artists’ work. In fact, Chambers has 250 pieces of contemporary art collected by hotel owner and realtor Ralph Burnet.

Below: ‘Beautiful, Insane, Insensitive, Erupting Liquid Ice’ – Damian Hirst

As you go to the elevator, there’s another Hirst – one of those spinning wheel explosions of paint. This one is “Beautiful, Insane, Insensitive, Erupting Liquid Ice”.

And everywhere you look, there’s a stunning piece: catch the ape and milk-buckets in the garden:

Below: Subodh Gupta

One format that worked very well was the video art – in the corridors and even the restrooms. There’s something very interesting about how you manage to snatch just a brief second as you pass video art as you travel along a corridor and you somehow appreciate it more.

If you’re passing through the area, it’s well worth a stop and visit – even for an afternoon browsing: Chambers Hotel, Minneapolis.

Below: (Old) No One-In Particular #6, Series 2″ Evan Penny

Below: “Other Thing” Subodh Gupta, 2006