Fine Art Meets Fine Dining, with Masterpieces on Walls and Plates Alike
By Elliman Insiders | Published on December 13, 2022
By David Graver
A sterling culinary reputation may draw patrons to a restaurant, but cuisine is far from the only attribute that contributes to a lasting impression. From the sound levels to the warmth of the lighting, diners take note—sometimes subconsciously—of all the factors surrounding a meal, as most chefs and restaurateurs are well aware. And in the world of fine dining, where a menu is considered a work of art, what’s on the walls is often an artistic masterpiece, too. While this concept isn’t entirely new, the trend has grown exponentially in recent years. Today an array of restaurants in New York City, and a growing coalition around the world, are showing off museum-quality paintings to complement the creative artistry coming out of the kitchen.
One of the most famous attempts at pairing fine art with fine dining occurred in 1958, when Alfred H. Barr, the director of the Museum of Modern Art at the time, suggested that still-emerging painter Mark Rothko receive a $35,000 commission for 500 to 600 square feet of artwork—to hang in New York City’s Four Seasons restaurant. Although Rothko, now one of the world’s most beloved modern artists, took the commission, the 30 works he produced (named the Seagram murals) never made it to the restaurant. After dining at the Four Seasons in 1959 (and observing a Jackson Pollock as a stand-in for his work), Rothko returned the money rather than give up the paintings. (He later donated some of them to the Tate Modern.)
Though Rothko never delivered, many others have— and now, more than ever, art acts as an accent to the meal and an influential element of the dining experience in certain eateries. For instance, Frevo, Brazilian chef Franco Sampogna and Portuguese restaurateur Bernardo Silva’s fine dining speakeasy, hides behind a painting in a small working art gallery in New York’s Greenwich Village. Curation of the contemporary art space has oscillated between Frevo’s own team and Destinee Ross-Sutton, founder of the ROSS-SUTTON Gallery. In contrast, the entire venue that houses the 45,000-square-foot Genesis House, a cross-cultural outpost for the luxury automotive brand, is itself the work of art.
“Genesis House is a communal space where Korean tradition meets contemporary culture at large,” according to Claudia Marquez, chief operating officer of Genesis Motor North America. The restaurant’s menu merges recipe techniques favored by 14th-century Korean nobility with elements of the contemporary slow food philosophy. “As for design,” Marquez adds, “we commissioned a Seoul-based architecture firm, Suh Architects, to design the space. The second floor, where the restaurant Onjium lives, features a floating, traditional, wooden roofscape inspired by Unhyeongung Palace, the personal residence of the last emperor’s father, with zones for eating, reading, meeting, and relaxing with views toward the High Line or Hudson.” Hovering wood shingles complement a range of ceramics, metal vessels, and traditional Hanji rice paper placemats, immersing diners in art.
PERFECT PAIRINGS
When the 53 West 53 residential tower joined the New York City skyline in 2019, many New Yorkers were curious about how the Jean Nouvel–designed super- tall structure—which springs up from the Museum of Modern Art—would contribute to the artistic legacy of its base. 53 West 53 immediately offered expanded gallery space for MoMA, and this year contemporary Asian restaurant 53—operated by the acclaimed Altamarea Group—opened inside the tower. Art informs the restaurant’s mission, just as it does the museum’s. Ahmass Fakahany, founder and CEO of the Altamarea Group, partnered with Friedrich Petzel Gallery to curate the space, blurring the boundaries between restaurant and art institution. Art rotates every three to five months throughout the 11,000-square-foot, multilevel space.
No restaurant has as diverse a collection of artistic masterpieces as the acclaimed West Village hotspot Les Trois Chevaux, where an award-winning tasting menu upturns classic French cuisine—and is served alongside works by the surrealist Leonor Fini, street artist Banksy, modernist Anthony Micallef, and Picasso. “My view on restaurants has always been that there are places to eat and places to dine. I have always preferred my restaurants to be the latter,” says Angie Mar, chef and proprietor of Les Trois Chevaux. “To me, great cuisine is like art, so naturally, being surrounded by great art should go hand in hand with the dining experience. At Les Trois Chevaux, we have a small but well-rounded collection that comes from my personal archives. My grandfather was a great collector, and I have always been a collector who does not sell but instead chooses pieces that my family will have for generations.” All these diverse pieces tell a story that adds to the elevated experience.
INSPIRED IDEAS
The same can be said for Dowling’s at The Carlyle hotel. Though the famed hospitality destination draws a prestigious set to its historic Bemelmans Bar, named for the murals along its walls, which were painted by Ludwig Bemelmans in the 1940s, aficionados won’t want to miss Dowling’s, a restaurant that opened in 2021 and is adorned with 189 works of art. Adviser Natalie Choy, founder of Rare Phenomenon Collective, was tasked with channeling the spirit of Bemelmans into Dowling’s and balancing the restaurant’s long-standing clientele with a new crop of curious diners.
“At Bemelmans Bar, you do not feel the time passing,” Choy says. “That was my inspiration. I thought that is what this could be.” To launch the curation, the hotel purchased five original Bemelmans pieces to hang in the restaurant’s main dining room, the only works Choy herself did not bring to the mix. From there she began with frame studies through the restaurant’s three spaces: an oval-shaped entry, a main dining room, and a semiprivate back room. Each needed a separate identity.
Works by Jessalyn Brooks and William M.R. Kaner populate the oval entry. A handful of artists join the Bemelmans originals in the main dining room. For the semiprivate space, Choy indulged. “Every piece in that room was commissioned in a month,” she says of works by Pauline de Roussy de Sale, Andie Dinkin, and Xavier Donnelly. The trio worked hand in hand to bring the vision to life. “We wanted a more whimsical, eccentric, and landscape-like ambiance to the room. In every corner, you find something different. You can stay there for hours.” Choy’s layers reinforce the lush, timeless magic of The Carlyle—and the spectacular artwork pairs quite well with the menu’s flaming Baked Alaska.
Outside the city, Moderne Barn in Armonk, New York, uses art to underscore its origins and its aesthetic. “Our restaurant takes the look and feel of a modern barn, as the name implies,” says Bill Livanos, whose family owns and operates the restaurant. To populate the barn with wildlife fit for a farm, Livanos looked to the Wild Horses of Sable Island imagery by photographer Roberto Dutesco. “This used to be an old furniture store called The Yellow Barn that sold modern furniture. We played off that name when we built out our restaurant. The designer brought Roberto Dutesco to our attention. We visited his gallery and fell in love with his horse prints. They fit perfectly.”
Elsewhere across the globe, from the luxuriant Korean barbecue hotspot COTE in Miami to the art- drenched Sketch in London, art plays an integral role in the experience for diners, providing a sensorial synergy, where one form of creative expression supports another. As chefs carefully select ingredients, so too they curate art or partner with those who can enhance their culinary majesty. Perhaps when we contemplate our next meal out, we should all ask what’s on the walls as well as what’s on the menu.