Contemporary Art at the Sagamore Hotel on South Beach

The Sagamore Hotel, Wall Art

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The notion of being immersed in contemporary art was thought provoking. When I stepped into the lobby at the Sagamore Hotel at 16^th and Collins on South Beach — sculptures, photographs, paintings and video enveloped me. Talk about visual stimulation! The Sagamore is hailed as the  "Art Hotel" and with good reason — the extraordinary collection of Cricket Taplin (owner of the Sagamore) fills every nook and cranny.

It’s surreal. I keep thinking I’ll awake from a dream. White walls, white leather seating and an abundance of art surround me. It’s everywhere: on exterior walls (as pictured here near garden room balconies), in nooks, stairwells and even restrooms. A video installation of Me and Billy Bob is in a play loop in the lower level lounge. Here, actor Billy Bob Thornton is the romantic obsession of artist Jillian Mcdonald. Step away and you’re even more mesmerized by a wall composition of quintessential black and white photographs. It is Garry Winogrand’s Women are Beautiful series. I sit quietly, ponder and take it all in. 

Back on the lobby level, another compelling “mini exhibition” calls for my attention. Elliott Erwitt’s Personal Best, with images of everyday life intermingled with a mournful shot of Jackie Kennedy at the President’s funeral to Richard Nixon waving his finger in Khrushchev’s face. It is remarkable.

Stepping off the elevator as I head to my room, there’s another video installation. This one is a bit rowdy and wacky with cartoonish characters arguing; further down the hall quotes fill what would otherwise be empty wall space in-between doors. One of my favorites is by Jasper Johns: “Ideas either come or they don’t come.”

Look for more on the Sagamore Hotel and an Art Escape to Miami in the November/December issue of FT+L.

Tags: Miami | Sagamore Hotel | South Beach | The Art Hotel