The holidays are over and yet another deep freeze is approaching the Northeast. If, like most New Yorkers, you’re suffering from post-holiday blues, you can still make an escape—albeit brief—into a chill (pun intended) winter installation in the lobby of the Dream Hotel in the meatpacking district (through January 16). The immersive wonderland, set in the glass atrium spanning the rear lobby of the hotel, was designed by Brooklyn-based collaborative Snarkitecture and includes white flocking powder (lots of it), magical, double-mirrored vitrines, and a light-filled atrium featuring 16 live Fraser firs.
Snarkitecture, which describes its practice as investigating the boundaries of art and architecture, focuses on “reinterpreting familiar spaces into spectacular, unexpected moments of wonder and interaction,” according to a statement. The name is inspired by a Lewis Carroll poem, “The Hunting of the Snark,” about an “impossible voyage of an improbable crew to find an inconceivable creature,” as it has frequently been described.
artnet News sat down with Snarkitecture co-founder and director Alexander Mustonen, senior associate Benjamin Porto, and Dream hotel director of brand activation and partnership, Rohit Anand, to discuss the inspiration for the project and how it took shape.
“Our brand is very deeply rooted in the art world,” Anand told artnet News. Indeed, the stainless steel exterior of the hotel was inspired by Anish Kapoor’s Sky Mirror and the industrial aesthetic, including art-filled rooms with silver walls, is meant to capture the spirit of Andy Warhol’s Factory. “Instead of putting actual decorations in the lobby we wanted to create an art installation,” says Anand.
“On the idea of the holiday window…. We’re not selling anything,” says Porto. “But we can get people up close.”