From one concept to the other

From one concept to the other

 

The Hotel Windsor is a hidden oasis among Nice’s mirages. Migrators land here to rest from wind agitations . This secret aviary was imagined by Bernard Redolfi . Some guests are just passing by, others remake Lascaux on its walls. Tintin hangs out in the corridors on the lookout for a clue about the next guest . Raymond Hains hold there a salon. The Futurists gave a banquet . No wonder that this house of singularities reinvents with Odile Redolfi the laws of artistic hospitality. The screens of the rooms at the legendary Windsor Hotel are now waiting for the trembling images that will haunt them.

Christian Bernard, Toulouse, September 16th 2015

 

 

Since 25 years, the Windsor Hotel incorporates contemporary art in its place. More than 30 rooms were invested by renowned artists (Raymond Hains, Claudio Parmiggiani, Claude Viallat, Glen Baxter, Robert Barry …) and this is a unique collection of “rooms-art pieces.” In 1986, Bernard Redolfi, the Windsor’s direcor at the time, participated in an art tour organized by “Les amis de la Villa Arson” with Christian Bernard, then director of the Villa Arson. His visit of the exhibition “Chambres d’amis” by Jan Hoet in Ghent resulted in the begining of the artists’rooms adventure at the Windsor. Since then, Martine de la Châtre, renowned gallery owner in Paris, continued to support us in the development of this project. Since ten years, we also host temporary exhibitions in the lobby and the bar, usually in the form of an installation by a young local artist which transforms the place. Every year these exhibitions enrich our collection of permanent works displayed in the hotel’s common areas. Member of Botoxs, the contemporary art network of the Riviera since 2009, the hotel is actively involved in the events of the association (Visiteurs du soir and Visiteurs du samedi, artistic or organizational projects). Since 2011 we have started to build with Pauline Payen (young artist living in Berlin) a video library of interviews, questioning artists that “made” a room at the hotel on their experience and their work in general. Ben, Gottfried Honegger, François Morellet, Olivier Mosset, Claude Rutault, Aicha Hamu, Henri Olivier … let us start creating this database, a necessary archive for the memory of our place. Some interviews are still being edited currently (Noel Dolla, Choi Jeong Hwa, Matthieu Mercier, Philippe Perrin …). For some time now Odile Redolfi has wanted to create an event about video art, with Pauline. After discussing with Marianne Romeo of L’Eclat, who works on the Movimenta event in Nice (a project for the city in 2017 ) and whilst Cedric Teisseire has invited the Hotel Windsor to participate in Hotel Burrhus yearly exhibition, OVNi’ s  form imposed itself as the most appropriate for the Windsor’s means. Odile Redolfi invited first the closest structures around hers to participate in the project. One thing leading to the other, Fabienne Fulcheri, Eric Mangion, Pascal Neveu… and Christian Bernard, each partner advised one or two art institutions in Europe… Isabelle and Jean-Conrad Lemaitre as well as Norbert Hilaire also provided advices and guidance. So the list of participating structures has been established by co-opting, with care to represent multiple regions and countries in order to offer visitors different sensitivities and to reach an geographically dispersed audience.