Imagine an art exhibition of iconic Louisiana imagery: the Mississippi River, jazz music, Delta cuisine, the flora and fauna of the bayou—all unexpectedly presented and thoughtfully installed throughout a 260,000-square-foot space, where custom designed or carefully selected wall and floor coverings, accent pieces and furnishings, seamlessly reinforce the thematic elements present in the paintings, photographs and sculptures.
The collection features hand-blown glass sculptures by James Vella, artist and creator of Vella Vetro Art Glass of New Orleans; floral photographs on polycarbonate by fine arts photographer David Carlysle Humphreys of Baton Rouge; a four-piece oil on panel waterscape by current Baton Rouge resident (and New Orleans native) Jill Hackney; a “Triptych Painting of a Crab” by New Orleans painter Billy Solitario; and a commissioned wall-mounted/ceiling-suspended installation of hand-formed polycarbonate, “Birds,” by Baton Rouge sculptor Brad Michael Bourgoyne.
Original paintings by LSU interior design alum Doug Detiveaux and Austin artist Doug Kennedy, as well as exceptionally produced prints of Demond Matsuo’s highly textured “Icarus” series paintings and photography by Eleanor Owen Kerr, Dede Lusk and Mitchell Naquin also hang.
This multi-modal, visual narrative of Louisiana was curated by Ann Connelly Fine Art of Baton Rouge and is on indefinite display in the capital city. The revelation is where this ambitious collection of indigenous art is showing: The Renaissance Baton Rouge, a newly opened luxury hotel.
The Renaissance, itself, is replete with all of the amenities and services expected of luxury accommodations. Guest rooms are furnished with king or double queen beds, flat-screen televisions, iPod docking stations and Aveda bathroom amenities. The hotel features a concierge lounge, a top-of-the-line business center, state-of-the-art meeting rooms, a fully equipped fitness center, a full-service spa, a resort-style outdoor pool and courtyard, a Grand Ballroom and a casual, yet upscale, restaurant and wine bar named for the town of Tallulah, Louisiana.
Renaissance is an upscale Marriot brand with only 145 locations across 33 different countries and is distinguished by emphasizing the local personality and culture of each hotel’s home city. The Baton Rouge location is born of local legend, past and present.
The building was first conceived in the 1980s as a dormitory for Swaggart Ministries, but was never fully realized. The property was purchased in 2004 by Wampold Companies, a Baton Rouge-based real estate development and property management firm. Wampold’s commercial holdings include many of the most recognizable office buildings in the capital city, including the Shaw Building on Essen Lane and the Chase Building, City Plaza and II City Plaza in downtown Baton Rouge. CEO and owner Mike Wampold is well-recognized for his active role in the Baton Rouge community. The Renaissance project was guided by Wampold’s vision to honor Louisiana commerce and culture through a visual narrative.
Ann Connelly, the project’s art consultant, said, “Mike was highly involved. He attended every single meeting regarding art and design.” Connelly is clearly impressed with Wampold’s attention. She said, “This was no small project. We made eight formal presentations.”
The project team worked tirelessly reviewing artists around the globe to capture the visual story conceived of by the owner. In due course it was realized that they needed to look no further than their own backyard. From the real estate development to the interior design, from the fine art direction to the fine art production, all of the major players in this endeavor were past or present residents of the Pelican State.
Connelly worked closely with Elizabeth Griffin of Wampold Companies and designer Doug Detiveaux of Gensler Architects to select and integrate the artwork with the interior architecture and design. Ultimately, the team managed an exceptionally executed aesthetic. The architecture, interior design elements and fine art pieces create a cohesive, yet unpredictable, visual celebration of Louisiana culture. The repetition of iconic imagery in unexpected media and spaces throughout the hotel creates an elegant juxtaposition of classic representations and modern abstractions.
Traditional local imagery is presented in unusual ways to tell the Louisiana story. Musicians wielding brass instruments appear on canvas, but also etched in the white glass base of the restaurant bar. Black-and-white photographs of magnolias, azaleas and camellias are printed on five-foot-wide polycarbonate and are also reproduced in the deep swirling colors of the carpet. Representations of the Mississippi are captured in print as well as in the fabricated metal installed in wood panels behind the front desk.
Perhaps the most unexpected repetition was inspired by that most famous predator of the Southeast. A hand-blown, three-piece glass alligator installation is mounted on the wall across from the grand ballroom. Design elements reflecting the textured skin of the reptile appear repeatedly throughout the building, from the tiled seat backs of chairs in the lounge to the custom wallpaper in guest quarters.
What distinguishes this hotel from its luxury counterparts is how thoroughly the space embodies its purpose through aesthetics. Through the process of presenting the visual history of Louisiana culture, the Renaissance has written itself right into the iconography.
Colleen H. Fava is a Baton Rouge writer without a proper pseudonym. She does, however, have numerous monikers graciously bestowed upon her by friends, family and keystroke accidents. She will answer to the following and more: CoCo, CoFa, Colleen Flava, Colleeen, Col-ia-een and Miss Favulous.
Details. Details. Details. Renaissance Baton Rouge Hotel 7000 Bluebonnet Boulevard (225) 215-7000
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