Keeneland, Investing in Racing's Future since 1936.
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34 SUMMER 2016 K KEENELAND.COM HOTEL 21C spotlight on rowÕs Weather was commissioned after Laura Lee, Steve, and I met the artists, Bigert and Bergstrom, in their studio in Stockholm in 2010 and were fascinated by other projects they had created in various Scandi- navian cities." A similar thought process of how to tie the art with its community is given to each of the rotating exhibits. 21c Lexington's inaugural ro- tating exhibition (running until September) is a mixed-media offering, Dress Up/Speak Up: Costume and Confrontation, a provocative work that uses clothing and costumes as metaphors for the cultural realities and aspirations in many nations. One of the most prominent of the featured artists is Jamaican-born Ebony G. Patterson, a University of Kentucky associate professor. Provocative is probably the frst word that comes to mind when describing the art at 21c. Stites, however, prefers thought-provoking. "We believe that all art can be thought-provoking," she said. "While we can never predict how viewers will react to any one installation or artwork, we anticipate that the art will start conversations on any number of topics. "We feel that our art is a great place to begin diffcult discussions about the state of our world or of our hearts." Free 45-minute docent tours are offered every Wednesday and Friday for those interested in learning about 21c's exhibitions and how they ft into the ethos of the building and city where the hotel is located. Careful renovation The permanent and rotating art installations are just one kind of art at 21c Lexington. Wilson and Brown were just as concerned with preserving the integrity and history of the building itself. To that end, they engaged New York-based architecture and design frm Deborah Berke Partners to ensure that period details such as marble walls, ornamental molding on the vaulted ceilings, and tiled foors were carefully preserved. Wilson said he and Berke, whose frm has over- seen renovation for all of the 21c properties, were bowled over when they saw the former bank building and imagined the possibilities. "When Deborah and I frst walked into the building and saw its elegant bones and then visualized how it would turn out, we knew immediately that it had the kind of character that a Lexington property deserved," he said. That feeling is one he wants hotel guests to experience as well. "In Lexington, we have a unique audience," he said. "There are not only the people coming from all over the world to a relatively small community [actor Matthew McConaughey was a recent high-profle guest], but there are those connect- ed with the University of Kentucky, the horse and bourbon industries, and tourists drawn to our world-class landscape. "We want all of them to leave feeling that they've been in a very unique environment — one they won't experience anywhere else," he added. It's a feeling that Wilson, Brown, Stites, and company will export to four more cities in the near future. Opening this summer will be an Oklahoma City museum hotel located in a nearly century-old Model T assembly plant built by Henry Ford. After that will be properties in Kansas City (in the his- toric 125-year-old Savoy Hotel, where former president Harry Truman regularly stayed); Nashville (in an 1890s building list- ed on the National Register of Historic Places), and Indianap- olis (in its old City Hall). But for now, those blue penguins are basking in the refect- ed glow of the newest 21c, and Wilson is enjoying it all. "When I started all this a decade ago, I hadn't been taught the rules, so it was easy to break them," he confded. "I guess now we have our own rules." KM Each hotel guestroom contains unique pieces of art. Docent-led tours offer visitors a chance to learn about the latest exhibitions. KIRK SCHLEA PHOTOS COURTESY OF 21C MUSEUM HOTEL