I was very lucky to have an opportunity to work with the Grand Hotel in Taipei on some paintings. I had my first meeting, and he explained that they want work that really sourced its imagery and meaning from the hotel/culture/environment. It was definitely a bit challenging painting oil paintings in a short amount of time (2 ish weeks) but I enjoyed this opportunity immensely, I am so grateful.
I'm dropping down what I found on the grand hotel online to get a better understanding of it, at least on the surface first:
https://www.grand-hotel.org/EN/official/about.aspx?gh=TP
Established in 1952 by Madam Chiang, Soong Mei-ling, the Grand Hotel is Taiwan’s first five-star hotel, standing midway up Yuanshan, nestled against Yangmingshan, overlooking Keelung River in the front, Songshan in the east and Danshui in the west. The 14-storey palace-like building, with its vermilion columns, gilded tiles and a magnificent, grandiose, regal and classic presence, is an embodiment of eastern aesthetics and one of Taipei’s representative landmarks.
The hotel has 500 guest rooms, 4 Western and Chinese gourmet restaurants, and large banquet halls offering a wide range of different luxurious cuisines. Located in the city’s vantage point, Yuanshan, the Grand Hotel offers a great view of the prosperous city by day and an all-enveloping serenity at night. Over here, time and space expands and becomes one, while the classic meshes with the contemporary.
"A quiet oasis in a busy city"
In 1967, the Grand Hotel was listed amongst the world’s top 10 hotels by the Fortune magazine, and was entered into the American Holiday magazine as a Topnotch Hotel, described as a quiet oasis in a busy city. It became the leading benchmark for all hotels the world over, and has since played host to over 2000 foreign dignitaries, including heads of state, diplomats, prominent politicians and renowned personalities, Such as the late American President, Dwight D. Eisenhower; King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, Singaporean Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew and so on.
Not only is the Grand Hotel’s infrastructure renewed, but also its culture ambience enhanced. Every day in the lobby one can enjoy live music and performances by professional art groups as the Hotel is being developed as a brand-new cultural landmark. The Grand Hotel is also featured as a holiday villa where all visitors will feel a heart-warm welcome. The Grand Hotel hopes to become a benchmark for Taiwan's international tourist hotel. We promise to embrace all world travelers with supreme 5-star amenities and services. You are cordially invited to experience our exclusive hospitality.
[looking at the numerous pictures of the grand rooms, it makes me want to collage them or paint them in a different style.] perhaps in an exaggerated manner, with too-bright colours to enhance the luxury. so good that it is almost a dream. I am thinking of Dexter Dalwood's interior works and also the ideas of travel, which I've thought about a lot before. perhaps I could also take pictures of the hotel myself, depending on what I can do on site...
dexter dalwood:
