During their two-week stay, the invited artists enjoy the hotel’s hospitality; in addition to their hotel room, they have access to a fully equipped studio on the ground floor. At the end of their residency, Esther Eppstein and the artists invite guests to an open studio for a presentation and get-together. The Artists in Residence donate a work to the hotel’s ever-expanding art collection. The works created in the studio are installed in the hotel’s public areas and can be viewed at any time. “Artist in Hotel Residence” is conceived and curated by Esther Eppstein.
Xinyi Fox Hu
from Guangdong, China, currently living in Paris
29 June to 12 July
In collaboration with sinokultur, Zurich
During her residency, Chinese artist Xinyi Fox Hu held a ceramics workshop in the studio, titled ‘Inventing Ritual Objects’, in collaboration with the independent cultural association Sinokultur. The artist presented the participants’ work – small sculptures made of fired clay – alongside her own sketches and experiments as part of the Open Studios event. In her artistic practice, Xinyi Fox Hu combines ceramics with materials such as metal and glass, or with everyday objects such as mirrors or furniture. Her sculptures reveal the influence of Cantonese culture and traditions: people create a ritual shrine for their ancestors in their living spaces, to which they add objects from their everyday lives, thereby imbuing them with their own significance.
Tina Müller, founder of sinokultur, on the artist: “We met Xinyi Fox Hu during our research trip to Geneva. The artist invited us into her studio and showed us her poetic, organic ceramic sculptures, which immediately enchanted and fascinated us. During her artist residency at the 25hours Hotel Langstrasse, Xinyi Fox Hu will explore her surroundings and enter into dialogue with the magical creatures of the city.”
Hilla Toony Navok
lives in Tel Aviv
10 to 22 August
In collaboration with Omanut, Zurich
The Israeli artist Hilla Toony Navok has brought her family with her to the ‘Artist in Hotel Residence’. Together, they have spent time in the studio every day, producing numerous new drawings, sculptures and collages. For the Open Studio, Hilla Toony Navok and her son Nuri are presenting a wall of works that celebrate artistic expression, the joy of creation and life. The workbench remains in use throughout the Open Studio; Nuri adds to the exhibition with drawings, whilst Hilla Toony Navok places coloured dots on the audience clothes.
Hilla Toony Navok and her family were invited by Omanut, the Forum for Jewish Art and Culture in Zurich. Susanna Koeberle, cultural journalist and board member of Omanut, on the artist and the invitation to Zurich: “In 2020, Omanut organised a discussion with Hilla Toony Navok to mark her first exhibition in Zurich. At the time, she gave us an insight into her multimedia artistic practice, which offers a critical and humorous perspective on urban space. The artist explores how city dwellers interact with their surroundings. Her return to Zurich and her stay at the 25hours Hotel, as well as the lively neighbourhood around Langstrasse and Europaallee, will inspire Toony Navok in her artistic approach.”