LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels has signed an exclusive deal with esteemed furniture design gallery owner Ralph Pucci to develop the first Hotel Ralph Pucci. The Georgetown Inn will undergo a transformation and debut as the new 96-room Hotel Ralph Pucci in Spring 2008, and be the first of its kind in a unique collaboration between a design visionary of Ralph Pucci’s reputation and a stable of highly-respected designers of furniture, lighting and rugs, along with noted photographers.
Above: The Facade of the Georgetown Inn before transformation to Hotel Pucci.
Ralph Pucci never set out to run the country's best modern furniture gallery,but a post-college foray into his parents' mannequin business led to a meeting with French design legend Andree Putman...and he was hooked. Every three months, Pucci fills his New York and L.A. showrooms with the work of international talent such as Putman, Patrick Naggar, Vladimir Kagan, Jens Risom and Paul Mathieu, among others.
Above: Ralph Pucci
Originally known for his innovative and visionary mannequin collaborations with world famous illustrators, fashion designers, pop artists and super models, Ralph Pucci later added furniture and art to his repertoire, representing design legends Andree Putman, Vladimir Kagan and Chris Lehrecke, building his business into the country’s leading modern furniture gallery. With the launch of the hotel, Pucci will be introducing his modern design vision and philosophy of discovering “the new and the next” in the heart of Georgetown.
“For the hotel design, every aspect of the hotel from the rooms to the public spaces will be custom-designed and reflect a new philosophy. The hotel will be elegant, modern and timeless,” said Ralph Pucci.
For this exclusive LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels Ralph Pucci property, Pucci has created the broad design concept and has selected architect/designers Pilar Proffitt and Robert Bristow to bring this vision to life. Proffitt and Bristow will design the facade, lobby, restaurant, guest rooms and baths, and will furnish these spaces and one floor of guest rooms.
Pucci has selected five of his artists to provide the furniture for each of the guest room floors. These designers include Robert Bristow's "warm minimalism”, Jens Risom's "mid-century modern," Patrick Naggar's "modern luxury," Paul Mathieu’s "sculptural elegance”, and Christophe Delcourt's "tomorrow’s classics”.
Hotel Architecture:
We are aiming for a quiet architecture that reflects this spirit and provides a quiet backdrop for the furniture, photography and people that live in these spaces.
--Robert Bristow and Pilar Proffitt
Featured Floors:
Robert Bristow- Warm Minimalism:
Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Robert holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and Master of Architecture degree from Virginia Polytechnic. Upon receiving his Masters in Architecture, he landed a prized job as chief assistant in the office of the legendary Paul Rudolph, the father of Neo-Brutalism. Ironically, he moonlighted in another office, that of Aldo Rossi. Several years later, Robert moved to Boston to work in the architectural studio of Peter Forbes, one of the foremost practitioners of minimalist architecture.
While working in these offices, Robert set up his workshop and began crafting his own furniture ideas. The furniture he made attracted attention and was purchased outright by several high-end design stores in New York. As a high-end retail network evolved in the US, Europe and Asia, the furniture found it's way into some of the finest collections in the United States. Robert joined Ralph Pucci May of 2004.
Patrick Naggar- Modern Luxury:
Patrick Elie Naggar is a French artist, architect and designer who received his degree in Architecture (UPLCi) from the Ecole des Beaux Arts and a Masters degree in Urban Studies from the University of Paris. Naggar considers architecture as a central knowledge, encompassing interior design, furniture design a catalyst of the ideas, forms, plastic and artistic trends in order to create objects and spaces for our environment in the spirit of our times. Patrick joined Ralph Pucci in 1997.
Jens Risom -Mid-century Modern:
One of the first designers to bring the traditional Scandinavian values of function and craftsmanship to the United States, Risom was part of a new vanguard that helped establish post-war America's leadership role in the world of modern furniture design and manufacturing.
Born in Copenhagen on May 8, 1916, Risom was highly influenced by his award-winning architect-father who encouraged Jens to pursue academic studies in business and contemporary design. After completing two years at the Business College of Niels Brock in Copenhagen, Risom worked briefly for Danish architect Ernst Kuhn and he created several furniture designs for Gustav Weinreich of A/S Normina in Copenhagen. Risom's early designs for Normina were shown at the Cabinetmakers Guild Exhibition in 1937.
Jens Risom joined Ralph Pucci in 2005.
Christophe Delcourt- Tomorrow's Classics:
French born, Christophe Delcourt graduated Cours Florent, Paris in 1988, and in 1989 studied at the Theatre Ecole du Passage. With a keen interest in designing furniture and objects, Delcourt opened his first studio in the Marals area of Paris in 1998. Since then, he has designed for restaurants, hotels and boutiques and has exhibited furniture and lamps at Joyce Gallery in Paris.
In 2001, Ralph Pucci International became the exclusive representative of Christophe Delcourt Designs.
Paul Mathieu-Sculptural Elegance:
French designer, Paul Mathieu, based both in New York and Aix-en-Provence, exhibits his signature style in his furniture collection for Ralph Pucci International.
Mathieu is a progressive designer who gained his reputation through both his international interrior design projects, as well, as, his product designs for companies such as Ecart.
An unmistakable benchmark is evident in the graceful and elegant modernism infused in Mathieu's work. His furniture combines the unassuming harmony of nature, blending sinuous curves with tailored geometry. Mathieu's designs combine richness and depth of woods with the comfort of upholstery and with detail. This results in a refined statement of clean, luxurious simplicity.
Paul joined Ralph Pucci in 1999.
Art:
All of the photographers work will be displayed on different floors in a collaboration with each of the distinctive designers in pairs presenting Jens Risom with Christopher Makos, Christophe Delcourt with Antoine Bootz, Robert Bristow with Paul Solberg, Paul Mathieu with Gail Leboff and Patrick Naggar with Diego Uchitel.
Christopher Makos studied architecture and worked as an apprentice with the artist, Man Ray, in Paris. Since the early 1970s, he has developed a unique style of boldly graphic photojournalism. He is the author of two books: White Trash (1977) and Warhol: A Personal Photographic Memoir (1988).
His works have appeared in magazines such as Rolling Stone and Esquire. He served as a contributing photographer to Warholís Interview magazine and was a close friend to Andy Warhol. Presently, Makos maintains an active photography studio in Manhattan, hosts an interview show, Makostyle, for television in New York, and exhibits his photographs, prints, and paintings widely throughout the United States and Europe.
Paul Solberg: Paul studied Anthropology in Cape Town, South Africa, and worked on a land conservation project in Bophuthatswana. Solberg’s photographs have been published in Publisher’s Weekly, Ocean Drive, Elle, Home Miami, Lucky, and European publications, View of The Times, Vanidad, Alter Ego, among others.
Paul’s work has also been shown in New York and throughout Europe from: Ralph Pucci (New York), Young Gallery (Brussels), Flo Peter’s Gallery (Hamburg) and most recently at Paris Photo with Galerie Baudoin Lebon (Paris), and ARCO art fair in Madrid.
Antoine Bootz' talents earned him simultaneous success in both the fine art and commercial photography worlds. He has enjoyed many solo and group shows of his photography in his native Paris, France and his adopted home, New York City.
At the same time he has had the opportunity to work on advertising campaigns and editorial projects for Calvin Klein, House & garden, La Redoute, and many other prestigious clients. He is repped by Judy Casey.
Gail LeBoff was born in Brooklyn New York and currently lives and works in Vermont and New York. She is the recent recipient of the prestigious Louis Tiffany Biennial Award. Her work has been exhibited extensively and is in many major collections such as the Harvard Museum, Norton Museum, and Brooklyn Museum."
Gail Leboff's photographs are large-scale mysterious landscapes. They are quiet and mesmerizing. Whether of swans in a winter stream or birds in migration these images call you back again."
Argentinean born photographer Diego Uchitel moved from Buenos Aires to the United States after high school to attend film school and eventually found his true calling. He has been photographing the world's most beautiful subjects for twenty years.
Uchitel is renowned for his elegantly arresting photographs. His work is often described as less photographic and more painterly. You can contact him via his rep, Jed Root.
Floor Coverings:
Madeline Weinrib, a New York city based artist, has been designing carpets since 1998. She is the grand-daughter of Max Weinrib, the founder of ABC Carpet & Home. Weinrib studied fineart at Marymount College, New York, and has exhibited her work at New York's De chiara/Stewart Gallery and at Art in General. She has served on the faculty of City College in New York city, where she has taught drawing. Her paintings have been on view at Glenn horowitz Gallery in East Hampton, NY.
Madeline joined Ralph Pucci in 2006.
Lighting:
David Weeks originally from Athens, Georgia, attended the Rhode Island School of Design to study painting and sculpture and where he earned and MFA in 1990. Weeks moved to New York City where he worked as an associate to jeweler Ted Muehling in his Soho store. In 1996 he founded the Brooklyn based David Weeks Lighting studio. Since the studios inception, his product line has grown from desk lamps, sconces and ceiling fixtures to include floor lamps, elaborate chandeliers and mobiles. Merging industrial materials and organic forms, David Weeks lighting draw influence from eclectic sources such as mid-century European modernism, machine age industrial design and kinetic sculpture.
David Weeks designs are marked by an uncommon attention to detail and evocative materials: spun aluminium and steel, oxidized metals, porcelain shades and silk covered electrical cords. Especially notable are his large scale mobiles.
To add to the distinctive design elements on property, Ralph Pucci will also collaborate with menswear designer, TOMER to design all hotel uniforms, inspired by the jazz greats of the 1950’s. Additionally, Hotel Ralph Pucci will display the works of a different artist, rotating every 4 months, in the lobby of the property.
Location:
Hotel Ralph Pucci
1310 Wisconsin Avenue,
Georgetown, Washington DC 20007
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