Whitney reopens in US$422m new premises
Print Edition
Four years after breaking ground, New York鈥檚 much-loved Whitney Museum of American Art reopened this month in a futuristic US$422 million premises built by Italian architect Renzo Piano.
The celebrated museum of modern and contemporary American art has turned its back on the bourgeois satisfaction of the Upper East Side to move down town to the achingly cool Meatpacking District.
Sandwiched between the Hudson river and the High Line walkway, the new nine-story building of concrete, steel and glass is more than double the size of its previous premises on Madison Avenue.
Its asymmetric, angled style reflects the industrial vibe of the neighborhood. Its high ceilings, reclaimed pine floors, vast windows and large terraces fill the building with light and offer spectacular views across Manhattan and the Hudson.
Piano, who famously built the Pompidou Centre in Paris in the 1970s, said he was after a similar effect.
The vast, glass hall, which the Italian calls 鈥渢he lobby piazza鈥 was designed 鈥渢o let people come in, not be intimidated鈥 and feel welcome, he explained at a news conference.
鈥淵ou are entering a new world, the world of art and freedom,鈥 he said. 鈥淎rt is about freedom.鈥
鈥淚 hope you will feel that the building is designed to follow that freedom, to make that freedom visible.鈥
Besides the exhibition rooms and a huge space unencumbered by structural columns, the Whitney has an education center, library, 170-seat auditorium, conservation center, cafe and restaurant.
The entire museum, which some say looks a bit like an oil tanker, covers 20,500 square meters.
鈥淭his is a transformative moment for the Whitney,鈥 said museum director Adam Weinberg.
Larger and more flexible galleries offer more opportunities than ever before, allows the Whitney to show far more of its permanent collection, and use the outdoors for sculptures and performances.
Weinberg called it a 鈥渟ite for discovery and risk taking. Here the most important, challenging and courageous artists of our time will have a constant presence.鈥
The Whitney, which exhibits only American art from the 20th and 21st centuries, was founded in 1930 by artist and benefactor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and has a permanent collection of more than 22,000 works by more than 3,000 artists.
Its inaugural exhibition 鈥淎merica is Hard to See鈥 opened this month and runs until September 27, exploring the themes, ideas and passions that have preoccupied American artists from 1900 until today.
The cost of the US$422 million building was financed overwhelming by private donations. Bob Hurst, co-chairman of the board of trustees said the museum exceeded its campaign goal of US$760 million.
The Whitney bought the land from the city, which also allocated US$55 million to the project under previous billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Neil Bluhm, president of the board, said that in moving to the Meatpacking District the museum was returning to its roots just 鈥渁 few blocks鈥 from the site of the first Whitney.
鈥淚t places our great American art museum firmly among New York City cultural and historic icons,鈥 said Bluhm.
The museum will be open six days a week, closed on Tuesdays. Tickets are US$22 for adults and free for those younger than 18.
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