The Art at QT Perth

QT Perth is excited to welcome the addition of a dreamy new artwork to greet guests on arrival to the QT lobby. This stunning piece joins an already visually engaging collection on show, so let’s delve a little deeper into the meaning of art and artists…

Cue Emily. She’s the Director at Arte Arechi and in collaboration with QT’s design team, her eyes have offered insights on the art in QT Perth.

Emily, hello! Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became to be so involved in the art scene.

Well, to be honest, art has always been a big part of my life – from my early years in France wandering through galleries and museums with my family to later back home in Australia where I became heavily involved in performing arts. This all took me to London where I studied and then worked in theatre before heading to Sydney and finally Los Angeles where I found success on screen.

I was often working internationally on projects at that time and it was on a job in Italy that, I met my husband, Italian art dealer Raffaele Tranzillo, and found myself living in a country where one simply lives and breathes art in all its forms every day. I think my upbringing had already instilled in me a passion for European art but it was my husband, having worked for years in the research and promotion of high calibre Italian contemporary artists that really cemented this for me.

Many of his artists are well established internationally which meant we were able to travel and experience first-hand the international art scene. Together we created the art company Arte Arechi, named after the castle that overlooks the city of Salerno and the Mediterranean but then came the pandemic and lock downs and of course in Italy in 2020 all cultural-artistic events were forbidden.

So, after careful planning and quite a few COVID stumbling blocks, in 2021 we flew from Italy to Perth to put on a first of its kind exhibition of Italian contemporary art which inaugurated the company in Australia and was one of the first exhibitions in the world during the first years of COVID. From there Arte Arechi has gone from strength to strength and we are now bringing even more artists out to Australia. All very exciting!

Our guests are a little obsessed with the work displayed – and so are we! Can you tell us a bit about each of the pieces?

Well, I share this obsession so I can’t say I’m surprised! I mean, the works are all very special and by such popular artists.

Alessandro Giusberti, for example, is an internationally renowned artist who has had more than 100 exhibitions worldwide and was one of the pioneers of multidimensional painting with these works being exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2012. Roccobarocco is a work on transfigurations, on the doubling of the image, a very complex work to create that has a strong visual impact and is at the same time elegantly classic and innovative; a true contemporary piece of art.

Roccobarocco, oil on canvas, 130 x 170 cm, Alessandro Giusberti

Giusberti’s works are highly sought after by demanding collectors and are present in important public and private collections (such as Tom Hanks and the tennis player, Maria Sharapova).

Joker is a work created by Carla Campea and is a tribute by the artist to our own Perth legend, Heath Ledger. With origins stemming from pop art, the Roman artist has found her calling and made a name for herself within the Neo Pop Art movement. Her choice of materials, enamel colours, fluorescent paints, plexiglass, neon and jewellery (yes, the artist is also a popular jewellery designer) are the elements that characterize her works and can really bring to life interiors and their furnishings – no coincidence then that her works are present in the restaurants of the Masterchef Alessandro Borghese in Milan and LA, along with many a living room in uptown Manhattan!

Joker, 2021, mixed media, jewel and neon on wood, 70 x 100 cm, Carla Campea

The newest addition is Levante, 2022, Michelino Iorizzo, which is visually stunning, can you tell us how you feel it complements the hotel?

Yes! So, finally we have the famous female portraits by Michelino Iorizzo. Dreamy, melancholy, and enigmatic, the faces of his works reveal the beauty and mystery behind the female image. His works are in many international collections and are noted for their visual impact. They are also loved by film directors and so often pop up in various mainstream films. In this way, Levante is a work that captures the gaze of all QT guests with its colours, its shades, and those penetrating eyes.  It’s a work we believe fits perfectly with the contemporary and yet refined interiors of the QT foyer.

Levante, 2022, tempera grassa (egg-oil), acrylic and oil on board, 70 x 100 cm, Michelino Iorizzo

A hard one for you… Which piece do you most identify with and why?

That’s way too hard! I mean, Raffaele and I, we love them all – it would be like choosing between children; all special but all so vastly different!

Last question… Could you share some useful tips on how to pick the perfect piece to take home?

Works of art can be objectively beautiful and valuable but a perfect work for you is subjective. We are drawn to particular pieces and this attraction is influenced by our tastes, passions and the cultural context in which we were raised.

Whether a piece is for your home or place of work, the right or perfect piece is one that generates harmony and enhances the environment in which it is located, but more importantly, it is a work that has the ability to excite you emotionally by communicating with your inner needs or desires.
When you feel that, you will know you’ve made the right choice and at Arte Arechi, this is what we aim for when selecting our artists and their works.