Poetic Artist Finds Home in Melbourne’s Commercial Hub

The Blackman, the third Art Series Hotel, is set to open in August 2010, capping off an exciting year for the hotel group. The hotel is imaginatively designed in the spirit of figurative artist, Charles Blackman, who rose to fame in the 1940’s while painting in Melbourne.

Located on St Kilda Road behind the historic Airlie Mansion, just 2.5km from Melbourne’s CBD, The Blackman is perfectly located for corporate and leisure travellers and long stay hotel residents.  The hotel boasts a bright jewel box of colours and furnishings throughout, bringing the enchanting world of Blackman to life in hotel form.

Featuring an original work from the Alice in Wonderland Series, the hotel foyer leads to two restaurants and four event spaces. The new building is tall and slender in appearance and will house 209 suites. Glass balustrades up and down either side of the structure create a sense of movement, the variation in glass colour reflecting a giant artwork.

The rooms will offer a mixture of King and Queen suites boasting a combination of large terraces and balconies, each with sweeping views over Melbourne’s CBD and offering a wonderful sense of space, some 30sqm in size. Crowning the building will be two penthouses, a la Blackman style, a dreamlike haven perched above Melbourne perfect for a luxury retreat or a lavish corporate event.

The Blackman will have the trademark Art Series Hotel approach to guest experience including an in house art curator, art channel, inspired, knowledgeable staff and an art library in every suite contributing to a total art experience. Each suite features gourmet kitchen facilities, complimentary high speed internet access, Foxtel played on state of the art LCD screens and iPod docking stations, making The Blackman ideal for long term residents in the midst of a corporate relocation to Melbourne, or wanting the convenience of all the amenities of a five star hotel at their fingertips.

Blackman was born in Sydney in 1928. It was during his time in Melbourne in the mid 1940’s that his work met critical acclaim through his Schoolgirl and Alice in Wonderland series, naïve dreamlike works tinged with a sense of mystery and foreboding. Blackman has been instrumental in the development of the Melbourne and Australian contemporary art scene, has won countless awards and is hung in all major Australian galleries and collections. Alongside Dr John Olsen he holds the record for being one of Australia’s highest paid living artists, Alice’s Journey sold for a record $1.02 million in 2006.

The Art Series Hotels concept is the brainchild of Melbourne dynamo Will Deague. The Blackman is the third in a series of art hotels opening around Melbourne over the next 18 months. The first hotel, The Cullen, opened to critical acclaim in November 2009 and has been listed in the US Conde Nast Traveler’s 2010 Hot List, followed by The Olsen, the flagship hotel in the group in March 2010. The Art Series Hotel Group is part of the Melbourne based, Asian Pacific Building Corporation.