Art at the PURO Hotel

In a previous blog I wrote about my stay at the PURO Hotel in Poznan. I had been admiring and wondering about all the art I found about the hotel. Only on the last evening there did I find a brochure that explained about this. The brochure I found says "design meets  your surrounding environment" and that "the PURO Hotels aim to capture the history and culture of the surrounding city whilst providing an artistic feast for the eyes and mind." This art makes the PURO a restful and enjoyable place to stay. 

In the restaurant there is one long wall over the entrance areas to the kitchen and above the service area for the breakfast buffet. I kept looking at the jars on the wall and it certainly looked like broken dishes to me. Well, I was right.

The brochure I found explains this art was created by a tutor and students from the Poznan School of Form. Ceramic pieces were sourced from local factories. The smashed, broken, and colorful pieces were placed in jars to create a unique and unexpected interpretation of the every day plate.

And what were the everyday plates? Some are displayed nearby on a bureau. Below is a sample.

Below is a photo of something that definitely is not an everyday dish.

This art form is the work of Marta Szostek. It is made from broken porcelain pieces highlighted with gold. Pani Szostek is a student at the School of Form.

On one wall of the restaurant within the PURO Hotel hangs this photographic work shown below.

The brochure says this work "seizes the moment inside the PURO's NIFTY NO. 20 restaurant." The PURO specially sourced this work done by Ian Lanterman of Vancouver, Canada.

On the shelving between the common area and the hallway leading to the restaurant are many interesting pieces.

This is one of a collection of works designed to reflect the Baltic Sea. It is the work of Olga Milczynska. a tutor at the Poznan School of Form. She also has works in the PURO hotels in Krakow and Gdansk.

The brochure calls the two pieces below "Commissioned Polish Lace." However, the pattern is a rather universal one. My Dutch great-grandmother crocheted the same pattern! 

In the lobby foyer hangs a painting called Cactus Flowers.

 The brochure says it is a "linear composition inspired by the colours, forms, and materials that feature strongly withing PURO's brand identity." This may not make sense until one stays at the PURO and sees how much linear stripes of black and white are used for the PURO brand. This painting is the work of Michael Afas, a resident of Arizona.