ANDAZ 5TH AVENUE "BOOKENDS"
Creating a Site-Specific Hotel Mural for Andaz 5th Avenue
In 2023, 1DROP Walls commissioned New York artist Sean Maze to create “Bookends,” an original mural for Andaz 5th Avenue, a Hyatt hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
Located steps from the New York Public Library, the hotel occupies one of the city’s most recognizable literary settings. The project called for more than decorative wall art. Andaz wanted a permanent artwork that felt connected to its location, reflected New York’s creative character, and could become part of the experience of staying at the hotel.
1DROP Walls matched the project with Sean Maze and managed the commission from the initial creative brief through the completed installation. Maze responded with “Bookends,” a layered, dreamlike mural that draws inspiration from literature, the printed word, the neighboring library, and the visual energy of New York City.
The finished artwork was designed to feel inseparable from its setting—art that could only belong at this address.
A Hotel Art Commission Rooted in Its New York City Location
Andaz 5th Avenue sits across from the New York Public Library and close to Bryant Park, placing the hotel at the center of a neighborhood shaped by literature, architecture, culture, and constant movement.
That setting became the foundation of the creative brief. A generic New York skyline or conventional lobby artwork would not have captured what made the location distinctive. The stronger approach was to create an original work that responded directly to the hotel’s relationship with the library and the cultural identity of Fifth Avenue.
The mural needed to achieve several goals:
Connect the hotel to its literary surroundings
Reflect the energy and creative culture of New York City
Give guests an artwork they could explore rather than absorb in a single glance
Complement the hotel’s established design and art program
Feel authentic to the location without becoming overly literal or themed
This balance was essential. The mural had to reference the neighborhood while still standing on its own as an original contemporary artwork.
Selecting Sean Maze for the Andaz 5th Avenue Mural
Finding the right artist is one of the most important decisions in any hospitality art project. The artist’s work must fit the creative brief, but the artist must also understand how to create for an architectural environment and a public-facing commercial space.
1DROP Walls selected Sean Maze because his artistic language aligned naturally with the project. His work often combines vivid color, abstract forms, layered imagery, urban references, and surreal landscapes.
That visual vocabulary allowed him to interpret the literary concept without illustrating it too literally. Rather than painting a straightforward image of books or the library, Maze could translate the location into a more imaginative and immersive composition.
Andaz reviewed and approved Maze’s body of work before the design process moved forward. This ensured that the client, artist, and agency shared a clear creative direction from the beginning.
The Concept Behind “Bookends”
Sean Maze developed “Bookends” as an original response to the hotel’s literary surroundings. The mural incorporates references to books, language, and the printed word within one of the artist’s signature dreamlike environments.
The neighboring New York Public Library is present as an influence rather than a literal backdrop. Literary references and fragments of real and imagined New York emerge throughout the composition, giving the mural multiple layers of meaning.
This approach keeps the work from feeling like themed hotel decoration. Guests can recognize the connection to the location, but the mural still invites individual interpretation. Like a memorable passage in a book, it suggests a story without explaining every detail.
The title “Bookends” reinforces that relationship. It connects the artwork to literature while also reflecting the physical and conceptual dialogue between the hotel and the library nearby.
Designing Artwork for a Hospitality Environment
A successful hotel mural must work on several levels. It should make a strong first impression, hold up to repeated viewing, photograph well, and remain visually relevant long after the installation is complete.
For Andaz 5th Avenue, the mural also needed to integrate with an environment experienced by a wide range of guests. The work had to be distinctive without overwhelming the space and sophisticated without losing the immediacy that makes mural art engaging.
Maze’s use of vivid color and layered imagery created a clear focal point, while the depth of the composition encouraged closer viewing. From a distance, “Bookends” reads as an energetic contemporary mural. Up close, its literary and New York references become more apparent.
This combination gives the artwork both immediate visual impact and lasting interest—an important consideration for hotels, restaurants, offices, and other spaces with frequent or returning visitors.
Managing the Mural From Artist Selection Through Installation
1DROP Walls served as the art agency for the project, connecting Andaz 5th Avenue with Sean Maze and guiding the mural from the original brief to the finished wall.
Our role in a commercial mural commission can include:
Reviewing the space, audience, brand, and creative objectives
Curating and vetting artists whose work fits the project
Aligning the client, artist, budget, and production timeline
Managing concept development and design approvals
Coordinating site access, materials, preparation, and installation
Supporting communication between the client and artist throughout the project
This structure allows the artist to focus on creating strong work while giving the client a clear, professionally managed process. For hospitality clients, coordination is especially important because installation must account for guest activity, operating schedules, site requirements, and the condition of the space.
The Completed Andaz 5th Avenue Mural
Installed in 2023, “Bookends” became part of Andaz 5th Avenue’s commitment to showcasing New York City artists and original artwork. The mural gives guests a visual connection to the hotel’s literary neighborhood while contributing to the property’s own creative identity.
The project demonstrates what site-specific hotel artwork can accomplish when the artist, concept, and location are carefully matched. Instead of placing interchangeable artwork into the space, “Bookends” emerged from the history and character surrounding the hotel.
For 1DROP Walls, the project represents our approach at its best: understand the story of the space, identify the right artist to interpret it, and manage the collaboration from idea to completed installation.
