Hotel Cafe | Isabella Cotier
Image: Isabella Cotier’s “Hotel Cafe” (2023) © Isabella Cotier | Partnership Editions
Snapshot
Isabella Cotier’s illustration, Hotel Cafe
From her series: Cafe Culture
Artist: Isabella Cotier
Title: Hotel Cafe
Illustration (original), oil pastel and Indian ink on paper
Year: 2023
Dimensions: 7.6 x 11.4 cm (3 x 4.5 in)
from the LARS “Art in our Apartment” catalog / essay series
Cotier’s Magical Musings
Recall the scene in the Disney/Pixar movie, Ratatouille, where the famously stern and rigid food critic, Anton Ego, makes his much anticipated return to Gusteau's restaurant. The entire kitchen team, as well as us, the eager audience, wait with bated breath as he takes his first bite of the presented dish: humble ratatouille. At the first moment of tongue touch-down, Ego is transported back to his childhood home, where every related sensation surrounds him body and soul. As far as the movie narrative went, this was immensely gratifying. Human-cook, Linguini, and his rat-sensei, Remy, had succeeded in accomplishing their sous-chef-rodent dreams! Beyond the storyline gratification, the display of sentimental transportation additionally expressed an authentic depiction of what a striking sense can excite in you. The smells and tastes associated with ratatouille spoke deeply to Ego, who could immediately recall the sensations of comfort, love, and what it means to feel home. In artist Isabella Cotier’s 3 x 4.5 inch oil pastel illustration, Hotel Cafe, we are offered a similar opportunity. We are transported to a dateless sabbatical — indulging in our individual, precious affections alongside imagined peers. Cotier has created a visual representation of a musing that is easy to connect with — nostalgically and hopefully.
Cotier often uses her curiosity and intrigue of city folk to showcase the eccentricities of common passersby through illustrated portraits. Her subjects are less of a muse in the modern, sultry-skewed association of the term, but instead come across as magical musings more akin to the literal definition. Cotier generously creates visuals that are dreamy abstractions, sources of inspiration, and opportunities for us to marvel, contemplate and daydream.
The fuller illustrated series, of which Hotel Cafe is a part of, is titled Cafe Culture. Partnership Editions hosted this solo exhibition by Cotier in June of 2023. Cafe Culture celebrates the artist’s longtime and tender fascination with European cafes and the curious characters they attract. Throughout the series, images include quirky accessories that accompany Cotier’s muses – from large mustaches, vibrant turbans, and fancy patterned gloves – to their mysteriously wild pets: spunky birds, twin pelicans and a river rat poised as a lap dog. Although Cotier doesn’t assign names to the individuals in her portraits, you imagine they must be called something fabulous like Myrtle, Vincenzo, Boris or Florence.
Cotier’s work appears to capture moments in time similar to the way a blurry photo-still pauses a series of exciting movements. Utilizing a fluid style that oil pastels provide, Cotier’s creations feel very much alive. The rapid, back-and-forth tone of Cotier’s outlining strokes indicate a fondness of her observances — a desire to include every detail witnessed, even if this causes the contents to almost burst off the tiny page. Our arrangement in Hotel Cafe is immediately alluring — perhaps because we are confronted with a most gripping and emotive vermillion at the top of the composition. We move in closer, as if peering into a vintage travel sketchbook, wondering the who, what, where of the depicted scene.
In this image, we note the four drinks on the table, and without any other telling signifiers — like a chair count — to indicate the guest quantity, we understand this as a two-person setup: Any good frequenter of the laissez-faire lifestyle understands the importance of multiple beverages. We have an espresso for continued energy beyond the pre-evening stop, something non-alcoholic and refreshing for hydration, and of course, a timeless martini — like the Vesper — as the main attraction. This drink-laden arrangement quickly demonstrates to us the beauty of leisure, where one can enjoy both quality and quantity of time.
The check is tented on the table, dropped off for accessibility, not as a signal for a departure deadline (imagine!). This is a pausing, pleasure-based opportunity so abundant in the realms of aperitivo, happy hours, catch-ups and first dates. Think… vacationers pulled over to map out tomorrow’s activity plans. A bejeweled and worldly grandmother with her toting young grandchild taking a break from the uphill city walking. Man-friends who, after hours of exchanging stories, will “fight” over paying the bill. Demure lovers-to-be, such as the visually striking duo of Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara from the film Carol, who will coyly mirror each other’s beverage order. Although only devised within our wandering minds, the accompanying characters and accoutrements from this scene appear to us like a familiar slideshow.
Although there aren’t any convincing clues of where in the world we are (cc: Carmen Sandiego), Hotel Cafe feels like a known backdrop to a widely understood sentiment. We can recount previous examples from our own history, or via alluring stories found in literature and the arts. Bemelmans bar within Manhattan’s Carlyle Hotel remains a pinnacle of poise that represents “a treat” for many visiting and local New Yorkers. In Amor Towles’ book, A Gentleman in Moscow, Count Alexander Rostov’s front-of-house-comrades at the Hotel Metropol became his chosen family – subduing his cabin fever for decades during his Russian house arrest. Of course, there are times when a hotel is not glamorous. Globally, hotels of considerable size have stepped in as temporary housing options, safe havens, fortresses, and citadels in significant moments of historical affairs. Hotels can signify “living out of a suitcase” for many professional conference goers and exhausted traveling performers. The experiences of the latter are many miles away from the charms of Cotier’s scene before us.
In this setting, our sojourn is special — demonstrating exploration, a vacation, a change of scenery. Here, we are less accessible to those who may need something from us and concurrently, we are more in the care of others. Imagine ourselves seated at the provided table setting that accompanies such an adventure: Our feelings of comfort and our sense of being looked-after become amplified and enhanced with the metaphorical cocktail of hospitality, libations and food in a beautiful space.
In these fortuitous moments of travel and leisure, we are encouraged to live out the dreams and personas we’ve always wanted to try on, albeit knowing we might need to pack them up at the end of the visit. Via this small-but-mighty illustration, we are transported as though we have dove head-first into a postcard. Is this abstraction from our former selves, full of memory, or is it a premonition from our future selves, showing us the possibilities when we arrive? Either way, an aching question is: how do we get there?
How do we reobtain those feelings that only a true muse brings forth in us? A bona fide muse is more complex than our modern understanding. Less about the subject itself, a muse reminds you of your best you — during the most free, wild, fun, spontaneous spells. It is within those versions of ourselves where we take the biggest risks, are the most open and vulnerable, and can create unapologetically. There, we are turned on, tuned in, silly, romantic, dazzled — all while being subconsciously attuned to how fleeting the opportunity of liberating inspiration is. A state of exhilaration that is an exception to our everyday existence.
Cotier is savvy at showcasing muses for our taking. Her expression of wish you were here imagery knocks on the door of a sentimental room in one’s consciousness. What a satisfying dispatch from this previous/approaching moment. The muse’s tunnel of transportation can take many models – it can be bite-sized, the faintest of whiffs, a passing glance, or as small as a sip. You are encouraged to follow it as soon as it strikes. While appreciating this snapshot-sized Cotier illustration, I am pridefully reminded of my own past explorations and curiosity-driven pursuits, along with the meaningful experiences they provided. I am prompted of future possibilities that are at the ready in countless cafes around the world. To the observing admirer within you, please also remember to keep your own muses close and invite them in during times of plateau. Cheers to all the versions of ourselves that emanate. I hope they pull up a chair, order at least three beverages, and stay awhile.
pairs well with:
The Vesper from Duke’s Bar in London (via Alessandro Palazzi)
The Green Mango Martini from Superbueno in New York City (via Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez)
The Hinoki Martini from Katana Kitten in New York City (via Masahiro Urushido)
