Continuing through May 12, 2018
Among three concurrent shows “Paper Thin Hotel,” the ersatz lodging set up in Gallery 2, is nothing short of amazing. The monochrome, life-size, meticulous recreation of a series of hotel rooms, hotel lobby, and bar, the exhibition is immersive and elegant. Constructed entirely from cardboard by Dosshaus, the creative team of Zoey Taylor and David Connelly, every detail is thoroughly conceived, from a shower drain replete with fly to a match book with each match delineated.
This is a surreal, whimsical, and magical world; a stage-set of art in which each viewer becomes a participant. Painted in an ashy palette that slips from black to white to grey, the work blends sculpture and painting in an installation that is both dream-like and hyper realistic. The story-telling is deeply absorbing: Room 101 appears to be a honeymoon suite for outlaws, with an open suitcase of cash on the bed. Room 103 appears to belong to a musician, one down on their luck. Room 105 includes drug paraphernalia among a cluster of clothes and belongings. End up at the bar with a perfectly detailed juke box ready to play silent tunes. Dosshaus has created the ultimate Hotel California, an art staycation you’ll want to check out rather than check into.
