Harmon Guest House has partnered with local Artist and Winemaker Alice Warnecke Sutro to create a site-specific art installation, Mistress of Memory/ Palimpsest Suites.

On June 27, the property invites the public to a special viewing of the works in two of its top floor suites. The “Open Suite” event includes a chance for guests to participate in a flash fiction project.

The installation features playful life-size figurative drawings mounted on glass in a collection of suites, as well as a large mural at The Rooftop, and a companion video piece in the hotel’s lobby. It debuted on June 1 and will display through August 2024. The project is part of Harmon Guest House’s Rotating Art Installation Series which features works by local artists that celebrate the beauty and culture of Sonoma County.

Q & A with Alice Warneke at 5:30pm; this is a FREE event.

The new mixed media project, Mistress of Memory / Palimpsest Suites,

features life-size figurative drawings in her signature style displayed in Harmon Guest House suites, a companion video in the lobby, and a mural at The Rooftop featuring the Mistress of Memories. The material was created on site at Harmon Guest House during an overnight stay in Suite 17. The artwork’s theme is based on the way hotels punctuate our lives as places we go to mark milestones and celebrations, and how visitors create lasting memories in a space built for transience. The project suggests current guests acknowledge those that came before them and those that will follow, thus creating intimacy through layers of private memory in a shared space. The title of the piece, “Mistress of Memories/Palimpsest Suites”, pulls in the archivists’ concept of writing, erasing and then reworking a parchment. During the Open Suite event, guests are invited to write their version of the memories suggested in the project by submitting a flash fiction entry to be published on the project website. Members of the public may also view the project on-line at https://harmonguesthouse.com/hotel/art-installations, and contribute their fiction entry to the project.

This partnership with Alice Sutro is the most recent in a series Harmon Guest House has committed to since its doors opened in 2018. The hotel supports the arts with a permanent collection of commissioned art and rotating temporary exhibitions from emerging California artists showcased in the halls, main stairwell, and guest rooms. The pieces are all created for space, and to date have included sculpture, painting, photography, video, and live performances. Rotating the art of local artists several times a year, Harmon Guest House’s featured artists are invited to explore the property and create site-specific installations that reflect the space and their experiences in Sonoma County.

For more information about Harmon Guest House, please visit: www.harmonguesthouse.com.