Iuliia Tore 
Beyond striking modern design, exceptional cuisine and Seabourn’s signature service, Seabourn’s newest vessel, Seabourn Ovation, is set to “wow” guests with a new world-class art collection when it launches this spring.
At the invitation of designer Adam D. Tihany, a team from ArtLink curated, collected and is working to place over 1,600 artworks by nearly 120 artists on board Seabourn Ovation when it debuts in May. Sourced on five continents, the artworks and craftworks on board the ultra-luxury ship are windows to the world’s different climate zones, its flora, fauna and habitat, and imaginary travelers’ personal impressions of the world we encounter as we travel.
“Seabourn’s discerning guests certainly appreciate sophisticated design and beautiful artwork chosen to complement it,” said Richard Meadows, president of Seabourn. “We’ve worked with Adam and the ArtLink team to bring a large collection of sophisticated, fresh pieces together to give anyone who travels on Seabourn Ovation a reason to wander the ship and appreciate these inspiring works.”
The vast art collection aboard Seabourn Ovation allows guests an exclusive opportunity to view art in an intimate atmosphere. In a rigorous and creative dialogue, Tihany provided his design vision for the ship while the ArtLink team curated art for each of the spaces. They approached the project with an imperative to create a rich and varied art collection and include an incredibly diverse group of artists in medium, technique and culture; creating an exciting discourse that embraces the sense of voyage and travel that is completely emblematic of the Seabourn brand.
The art collection on Seabourn Ovation will include a glass piece by Luciano Vistosi, named “Warrior The Second”. The piece, a Murano glass sculpture created in 1991 of polished and hammered lagoon green crystal, will be featured on Deck 4 at the base of The Atrium. A second Vistosi sculpture is featured in the same spot on Seabourn Encore.
The Grill by Thomas Keller is inspired by the classic American restaurant of yesteryear. ArtLink’s curatorial team hand selected black and white photographs from the 1960’s to don the walls of The Grill and match the spirit of the venue. The photographs capture a forgotten era of elegance and glamour by American icons Eve Arnold, William Helburn and Alexander Liberman. The photographs are accompanied by two original lithographs by American abstract expressionist Frank Stella. The lithography of Frank Stella represents a practice where the picture-is-object rather than a representation of a larger theme or idea. Similarly, the candid nature of the photographs produced by Arnold, Helburn and Liberman depict instances that are quite literally exactly as they seem.
A sample of other notable pieces includes:
An Artistic Take on Sea Life: Artist Valeria Nascimento, who created pieces for Seabourn Encore, created a wall sculpture for Seabourn Ovation’s restaurant, Sushi. The piece entitled “Black Coral” is made from black pigmented porcelain with a form that is reminiscent of a living organism indigenous to the depths of the ocean. The deep hued piece, which looks like a living, breathing creature, projects an aura of indestructibility despite the delicate nature of porcelain. The piece highlights the fragility of nature.
A Citizen Of The World: It has been said that the places and people we come into contact with help to shape who we are as individuals. The imprint of travel and the fascinating effects cross-cultural pollination has on a person is what propelled the commission of Korean ceramic artist Yoo Eui Jeong, who uses timeless Korean vase making techniques in order to highlight the influence of contemporary culture on traditional art forms, to create a one-of-a-kind vase to be displayed in Seabourn Ovation’s elevator lobby. Yoo Eui Jeong’s hand-made vases are part of a series that have been displayed at London’s V&A Musuem.
Objectively Beautiful: Seabourn Ovation’s Club Lounge features highly impressive mixed media photography by Jose Romussi. The black and white photograph of a woman features lush hues of wild flowers that Romussi hand-embroidered onto the photograph. The woman’s features are masked by flowers while their stems seem to be growing from beneath. Romussi’s limited edition photograph examines the spectrum of beauty standards found throughout various cultures in the world. Flowers defy beauty standards and stand alone as a constant source of aesthetic pleasure.
