Art within architecture

Art in Architecture

Rivka Rinn: “The public visiting to a Hotel for various reasons does not have the intention of looking at art. Still, my intention is to provide thoughts of my artistic research and ideas, the most complicated and deep, without invading the needs of the people in the Hotel. It is never about decoration, or aesthetics. The space should encourage the work and vice versa. A balance has to be achieved.”

In order to achieve an exceptional artistic-aesthetic atmosphere, the Andel's Hotel in Berlin entrusted the Israeli born artist Rivka Rinn, with the project of developing a concept and realize the production of a photographic series of her work. The 72 works are partly large formats and are specifically created for the wide dimensions of all the public spaces of the Hotel including entrances, lobby, restaurants, bars, lounge and conference areas.

The light boxes, ink-jet prints on canvas, and c-prints are permanently displayed and are owned by the Hotel. 

Rinn was able to tap into her long experience of architecture related art to bring the concept to life. Among others she has created a permanent installation for Siemens central office in Munich, a window installation for “Haus der Kulturen der Welt", Berlin and permanent illuminated ceiling for the bank "Weserbergland Sparkasse" in Hamelin.

Art within architecture has to take into consideration the scale of the works in relation to the space, the light, the dynamics of the space, the flow, the location within other spaces, other existing permanent objects that affect the function of the space.

No less important is the function of the building itself. So the concept of the series installed at the entrance and lobby differs from the concept of those chosen for the restaurants .The works are dynamic and metropolitan, some are realized as light boxes, particularly   when placed in areas without sufficient daylight. Contrarily the series selected for the restaurants are photographs of nature shot out of the windows of cars or trains mostly printed on canvas. A series for the Sky Bar on the 13th floor shows airport lights which seem to be musical notes.

All the works shown at the Andel's hotel are photographs, but the artist is using the eyes of a painter. Rinn moves around smoothly between the boundaries of painting and photography, reunites both techniques and uses the camera like a painter uses the brush.

The main subject of the works is travelling, focusing on velocity as one of its main characteristics. As a consequence the works are about seeing in speed .Thus a form of art arises which deals with the contemporary way we see in time limits. We are accustomed to switch realities and its environments constantly at an ever faster pace. For we have been, says Rinn, permanent nomads for a long time now, who, thanks to modern technology, are able to  overcome any distance in brief time whether in our  city or anywhere in the world.

It is thus no coincidence that Rinn's works can be found at a Hotel, one of many stations in our permanent journey as nomads.

The works include photographs of nature taken from the window of a moving vehicle on the highway, crowded urban scenes, cities, nightscapes, sky scapes, airports and peoples’ behaviour during the journey. 

Each area has its own theme taking in consideration the dialogue and continuation between the works.

The viewers are confronted with photographs taken in New York, Tokyo or Beijing which are but memories of the place we are coming from and which we are carrying with us to our next destination while they are revealing to us the time span between arrival and departure.

This is a Permanent Project for Hotel Andel’s Berlin

The Hotel Andel's Berlin, one of the largest in the German capital, is located in Landsberger Allee 106 Berlin. It has with fourteen floors and 600 rooms and was opened on March 2009. The Hotel commissioned Rivka Rinn for artworks and for the interior design James Dilley/Jestico & Whiles, London

Contact rivkarinn@gmail.com for more details.

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