The Dossier Hotel

750 SW ALDER ST. 503-294-9000

Photo credit: dossierhotel

Local, Weird & Rare Art

A lot of hotel art tends to resemble a tacky bedspread—abstract watercolor floral arrangements in pastels. Dossier actually put in some effort. Each guest room features paintings, prints and illustrations by Portlanders that are a visual nature walk, with arcing ferns, moss-covered stones and mushrooms sprouting from tree trunks like tiny shelves. The lobby holds the hotel’s international collection, including a jarring multimedia commentary on surveillance by Tony Oursler, a Darth Vader helmet-shaped installation playing video of TV static and darting eyeballs. The real talker, though, is a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by photographer Chris Levine—said to be the only image of the monarch with her eyes closed.

> Andi Prewitt