THE PARAMOUNT HOTEL SEATTLE

A Collection of Local Art

On display, you will find a beautiful and unique collection of curated art. Many of the pieces were exclusively commissioned for the hotel by local artists including Layne Cook, Kathy Hastings, Deborah McCarroll, Kate Protage, Arlon Rosenoff and the late Bill Papas.

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time"

- Thomas Merton

Rainy Night street Art at The Paramount Hotel Seattle

Story of the Collection

"Seattle is not called the Emerald City for nothing; it rains here … a lot!"

When I arrived at the Paramount Hotel to discuss ideas for art in the hallways and guest rooms it was deluging; the skies were leaden, water was sluicing down the grey streets, but the sidewalks gleamed with bright reflections. It was a given; rain would be the main theme for the collection. An online search revealed that many Seattle artists capture images of their wet city in various ways. Layne Cook’s paintings transform those wet sidewalks into a kaleidoscope of colorful umbrellas, traffic lights and bright shop signs; Kathy Hastings paddles around Seattle’s harbors in a kayak to find inspiration for her diptychs and triptychs of rusting hulls and their reflections;

Deb McCarroll’s mixed media pieces feature a mysterious woman and her umbrella; Bill Papas’ watercolors depict a Seattle of two decades ago while Kate Protage’s oils abstract the reflected headlights of the traffic on city streets. In the guest rooms Arlon Rosenoff’s giclée prints depict rainy cityscapes through his use of heavy impasto.

Original art in hotels is a trend that is spreading and I, as an art curator, could not be more delighted. No more botanical prints or lithographs of trite landscapes on hotel walls that fade into the decor. Now, hotel guests can see a showcase of local talent and everyone benefits; the artists, the guests and the hotel. It was a great pleasure to put this collection together and I thank the artists and the hotel management for making it possible."

-Tessa Papas