This Page: John Baldessari, “Plant and Lamp,” 1993; Opposite Page (left to right, top to bottom): We try to buy something on each trip we take, this piece was purchased in San Sebastian, Spain; Sean Scully, “4-10-87,” 2013; David Hockney, “Paper Pools,” 1980 (We chose this piece because it seemed perfect for the Holiday House feel and vibe); Photo by Herb Ritts, Peter Beard (from a Gap ad campaign that was so successful people broke into bus shelters to get this image!) Gift from artist; Page from a Christopher Wool book; John Baldessari, “Plant and Lamp,” 1993; Alex Katz, “Ariel,” 2016, (We fell in love with this piece at an art show and knew it would be perfect for the Holiday House lobby. Room 15 also has a piece, as does the Sparrow Lodge lobby). Artwork not shown includes: Donald Sultan, “Red Poppies” sculpture, 2015; Ruth Asawa, looped wire sculpture, Rosenquist, Ruscha, Retina, Harland Miller, Liechenstein, Jean-Pierre Vasarley, and Cashman.
The duo behind the two establishments, Jeff Brock and Richard Crisman, have come up with a unique recipe for modern hospitality. It’s one whose unlikely combination of refreshing design, cutting edge art and—who would have thought?— communal gourmet dining has made these desert spots twin beacons of hip that draw an international crowd. In the Sparrows Lodge’s aptly named Barn Kitchen, diners take seats at two long tables twice a week to enjoy the set menu of chef Gabriel Woo. It’s something of a throwback, which may be one reason why it works. Ditto for the absence of televisions in the guest rooms. With abundant art to animate the setting (and conversation), who needs TV? On a very hot day in June, I sat down with Brock at the Holiday House to get his take on the hotels’ very personalized art focus. 54 ART PatronMagazine.com
OK. So who is the big art collector of the two of you?
“Richard is more of the high-end art collector and I’m more the one who goes for found objects at estate sales and such. So I actually buy the majority of pieces, whereas he’s the one who buys the blue chip ones.”
But surely your tastes overlap.
“Yes, we have eclectic tastes. That one, for instance [he points to a small frame on the wall behind us] is from a little antique shop in San Sebastian in Spain. I just loved it! And that [pointing again] is from Richard when he worked for the Gap in the 90s, part of a black-and-white campaign, it’s a picture of Peter Beard. “Coming at the acquisition of artworks from both of these directions is what makes it eclectic, and that’s very much our taste. We love having an amazing Donald Sultan piece, and then something we found at a garage sale. And we do that in the rooms, throughout the property, kind of this high-low mix.”