Daniel Arsham’s exhibitions draw enthusiastic fans in droves, but his latest installation has flown under the radar. That may be because of its unlikely location: a cabin on the shores of Lake Michigan in rural Wisconsin. It’s the fifth and newest addition to Destination Kohler’s Kohler Cabin Collection, a massive resort known primarily for its golf (it boasts four championship courses) and world-class spa. The addition of Arsham’s cabin has catapulted the Kohler-owned resort into a bucket list spot for fans of an artist considered by many to be one of the most important of his generation.
The 43-year-old multi-talented and avid golfer was born in Cleveland and raised in Miami. When he was 12, Hurricane Andrew destroyed his family home. Taking refuge in a reinforced closet, Arsham emerged to find everyday objects strewn about and useless. That explains the inspiration behind his now-iconic Eroded series, which conceives of fairly mundane objects as “relics of the present future.” A graduate of New York City’s prestigious Cooper Union, Arsham has had a fascinating career that ranges from designing sets for Merce Cunningham’s dance company to co-founding the design firm Snarkitecture, a film company, and most recently, a fashion line. A fashion favorite, he has created work for Tiffany & Co., Dior, Adidas, Byredo, Rimowa, and Porsche.
Arsham is not the first artist to design a hotel room. Antony Gormley’s ROOM at The Beaumont in London comes to mind. But his 1,200-square-foot cabin is the only opportunity to experience the artist’s designs first-hand and immerse yourself in Arsham’s world by actually using these pieces for an extended period of time. Everything in the two-bedroom space, which includes a kitchen and wood-burning fireplace, is something he personally designed or has lived with, and many pieces were made in very limited editions developed and exhibited at the Freedman Benda Gallery in New York. “Kohler gave me the freedom to create a total environment. Everything inside is something I’ve designed or would love to own. I even created a rock garden that mimics one I have at home,” Arsham said. “This is a huge sponsorship of Daniel. It’s a real commitment to the artist. I’m not kidding,” stressed Freedman Benda’s Mark Benda. “As a company, they can do this with much less money and effort, but they’re going to the artist and asking, ‘What is your vision?'”
Thanks to that promise, guests who book a cabin at Arsham Cleveland Chair,Sit down Bang bang benchor bask in the glow Pterodactyl Floor LampThe piece shown above is one of only eight produced for worldwide consumption. Broken MirrorBirch, an edition of 77 produced by the legendary Italian company Gufram Dino Dining Chair and Gazoo Lamp The edition is 250. Accessories include pieces from the Eroded series, such as a (Porsche) Safari Turbo, a (Back to the Future) movie poster and a Bearbrick.
It’s hard not to calculate the total cost, which must be significant. “When you’re in that cabin, you’re not sitting in something you’d find in any hotel room. It doesn’t matter if it’s expensive,” Benda insists. “It’s not expensive because Daniel says it is. The main thing the cabin should reflect is the honesty of the materials we use and how we make the pieces.”
The bathroom features pieces from the artist’s new, as-yet-unreleased collection for Kohler. terrainwill debut in September. Inspired by “droplets, sculpted masses and amorphous shapes,” the series includes a freestanding bathtub that appears to be hand-carved, vanities inspired by Arsham’s stay in Japan, sinks reminiscent of Rock.01 (a Kohler design that debuted at Design Miami in 2021 as a limited edition of 99 pieces), mirrors, lighting fixtures and KohlerWaste Lab tiles made from recycled materials inspired by the sand deposits left by waves lapping on the shore.
And that’s just inside: A wrap-around porch offers views of Lake Michigan and a Zen garden that features two Arsham sculptures. Bronze Extraterrestrial Bicycle, Cast from a replica of the bike from the movie “ET”. and Bronze Erosion Bunny, Based on the Bugs Bunny stuffed toy.
“The Alsham Cabin is an absolute work of art and extremely significant,” Benda points out. Alsham was humble about the result, saying, “I think it’s elegantly put together. It has a whimsical quality to it that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but I think it’s very admirable that one of the world’s largest manufacturers has achieved the level of craftsmanship that they achieved on this project.”
It may seem surprising that a company known for its bath and kitchen products would partner with an artist like Arsham, but Kohler has supported artists for 50 years through a residency program run by the John Michael Kohler Art Center. Over the decades, the company has hosted more than 500 artists from more than 25 countries at its Wisconsin-based pottery and foundry. Arsham’s cabin obviously doesn’t fall into that category, but it does demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to art and making it accessible to others. At $2,475 a night (plus tax), the cabin is out of reach for most, but it does include six of Arsham’s sculptures ( Pentax camera eroded by bronze and Bronze-Eroded Porsche 911 – Located on resort grounds for everyone to enjoy. DestinationKohler.com