Collector Spotlight: Andrea Franchini Builds Photography Collection

PADDLE 8
By Rebecca Bates

Hôtel Americano's Andrea Franchini sits on an Eames molded plastic chair. A Ryan McGinley photograph can be seen on the far left.

After Rome-born Andrea Franchini and his partners dropped their efforts to establish an American outpost of Pizza Roma, Franchini was approached by Grupo Habita, a Mexico-based network of luxury hotels, about a role at the Hôtel Americano on W. 27th Street. While the partnerships Franchini has built for Hôtel Americano have resulted in remarkable performances and installations, the curatorial vision for his East Village apartment is almost exclusively rooted in photography. “I’m very strict with my focus,” Franchini says. [link]