NASHVILLE, TN—Eaton Fine Art recently completed the art program for Music City’s newest luxury hotel—Holston House. In a Q&A with Lisa Choinacky, art curator for Eaton Fine Art, InspireDesign gets a closer look at the process and inspiration.
What was the inspiration behind the art program and how did it work with Holston House’s interior design?
The guiding aesthetic behind Holston House was a rustic modern decor and art program. Eaton Fine Art (EFA) collaborated with Stonehill Taylor and HRI Properties, the hotel owner, who offered concepts within the art program. At EFA, we collaborate with our clients to realize various creative moments and to integrate them into a curated art program. For example, the owners wanted to preserve an old fountain featuring a lion’s head. We decided to paint the lion’s body holding a guitar to echo the musical theme of the interiors and bring a sense of whimsy to the staid feature.
How did you go about curating pieces for the hotel’s spaces? What informs it?
In this case, we hit the history books to learn more about the original building’s namesake, James Robertson, who was Nashville’s founder. This point of departure allowed us to weave elements of Robertson’s story with Nashville’s music and art culture. Most of the pieces, for example, in the art program are by local artists, who reflect the thriving maker culture prominent in Nashville.
What story did you want to tell?
The art narrative is drawn from Nashville’s vibrant culture with a focus on music through an unexpected contemporary lens. The lobby is a real show-stopper. The standout works of art there include a collection of mismatched speakers that nod to Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” and that fill a curious architectural space carved in the lobby wall. Another striking piece in the lobby area is a neon line drawing composed of one tube of fluorescent lighting that both grabs your attention and recalls the fast energy of song movement.
Photography courtesy of Stonehill Taylor by David Mitchell.
