Morrison Hotel Gallery NYC and LA Salutes The Mystical Artistic Auras of Hotel Chelsea and Sunset Marquis with Retrospectives

Hotel Chelsea and the Sunset Marquis are themselves works of art, but these historic buildings are not always the main headliner. If these walls could rock, they would sing with stories spanning the gamut from wandering the halls with Janis, Marilyn, Jimi, and Factory pseudo-superstars to languorous dips in the pool with The Clash, Bob Marley, Blondie, Guns N’ Roses, and droves of unrelenting groupies trailing in their wake.

More than mere stomping grounds for sleeping off nocturnal bacchanal, these bi-coastal hotbeds for creative revolution take center stage as Morrison Hotel Gallery presents No Vacancy, a Hotel Chelsea x Sunset Marquis tribute. No Vacancy checks into New York (116 Prince St, 2nd Floor) and Los Angeles (1200 Alta Loma Rd) on Thursday, April 28, 2022 with an opening reception held from 6-9pm.

Hotel Chelsea is a magical realm that, since the beat boom of the 1950s and 1960s, has magnetized artists, writers, actors, models, and wounded romantics. The No Vacancy Hotel Chelsea collection takes us beyond the sacred site’s iconic lobby and into the very lives of the many spirits who reside and have previously haunted its hallowed halls. Images here are from and include current and former tenants and guests. These photographers include Tony Notarberardino, David Gahr, Alan Aldridge, Norman Seeff, Nat Finkelstein, Allan Tannenabaum, Jake Chessum, Lawrence Fried, Jerry Schatzberg, and Kate Simon. The wandering souls in this era-spanning scrapbook of sorts include artists such as Andy Warhol, Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, The Strokes, and Blondie. The retrospective’s NYC statement piece is a hand-signed Chelsea Girls poster by Alan Aldridge, commemorating the 1966 experimental Warhol drama. Quality Picture Framing in Long Island will be framing all The No Vacancy NYC pieces in very ornate Victorian and vintage mismatched frames.

“If these walls could rock,” the stories they would tell… The Sunset Marquis embodies the electric elegance of the Sunset Strip rock n’ roll scene and classic Hollywood. Many legends have called the Sunset Marquis home while a few stayed and never left – from Billy Gibbons, The Clash, The Ramones, Bob Marley, and Alice Cooper to Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Springsteen, and The Osbournes. It remains a haven for creatives spanning writers, rockers, actors, and models to freely commingle in a luxurious artistic oasis. Here, behind closed doors, away from paparazzi and fans, megastars including the Beastie Boys, Joey Ramone, Joan Jett, Morrissey, Roger Waters, and many others found a space to play, relax, and cram into The Whiskey Bar (where Foo Fighters rocker Dave Grohl famously met his wife, Jordyn Blum). No Vacancy boasts images captured at the Sunset Marquis by photographers including Richard E. Aaron, Brad Elterman, Danny Fields, Bob Gruen, Kim Gottlieb, Ross Halfin, Robert Knight, and Timothy White.