Contemporary art in hip downtown digs.

by Keith Wagstaff

Rising over the Bowery like a tower of haphazardly arranged white blocks, the New Musuem--a gorgeous seven-story creation from Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa--points both to the neighborhood’s gritty bohemian past and its sleek gentrified future. Of course the museum, which relocated to its current location in 2007, is not simply an architectural landmark; it regularly houses contemporary art exhibitions with an eye towards the outré from such downtown luminaries as Elizabeth Peyton and Agathe Snow. Each floor, flush with natural light, has the feel of a spacious, individual gallery, creating an intimate environment impossible in the city’s other storied museums.

07/29/09

I'm Hooked! The bookstore is sooo addictive....

by lkp237

New Museum's bookstore is truly a gem: although it is on the small side, the bookstore boasts great artsy publications, off-beat zines and experimental publications as well as a wide variety of creative gifts. Perfect for lunch time perusing!

07/29/09

New Art and New Ideas...

by kwhitmore

New Museum's cutting-edge design, by SANNA-- an ultra-hip Japanese architectural firm--serves as a beacon for "New Art and New Ideas" on the Bowery. Great spot to check out the emerging contemporary arts scene on the Lower East Side. Artist Ugo Rondinone's, "Hell, Yes!" sign out front sets the tone for a great museum experience: a museum with a sense of humor, what a novel idea! Exhibitions of contemporary art are always adventurous!

07/29/09

New Museum's Distinct Point Of View

by escott3

In its new home on the Bowery, the New Museum of Contemporary Art is poised to reflect the changing landscape of the Lower East Side, boasting an amazing vantage point from which to observe the ever-evolving downtown arts scene---LITERALLY---as you look out on stunning views from the 7th Floor “Skyroom” and take in the hottest trends in contemporary art!

• Pros: The view, the art, the great bookstore, the location!

01/30/08

just awful, i heard the art was bad, but even the cafe too?

by downtowNY

after all my friends told me the art was horrible, i thought maybe at least the cafe would be redeemable.

Not only was it filled with old people who had lost their ability to determine personal-space constraints, but they served us the wrong soup and a soggy sandwich. When asked why the tomato soup we ordered was brown, the guy behind the counter said "oh we had the wrong menu up, that's bean soup" and walked away without any apology or attempt to correct the situation.

bad food + bad service + uncomfortably close old people = never going back

12/08/07

Highly Unmonumental

by catti

I was extremely excited to check this new museum out- hoping that it would bring a sort of Berlin-esque feel to the downtown area- and shake things up a bit. I may just have been highly affected by the absolutely wretched decision to choose "Unmonumental" as their very first exhibit, but I felt like they owned up to their exhibition's title. The facade of the building is an exciting juxtaposition to the rest of Bowery- but then you go inside and the interior seems poorly planned. It's not obvious, other than elevators how to move from floor to floor. People were unknowingly trying stairwells that would set off fire alarms. The first floor we got off on, felt like the sidewalks of the Bowery on a sweltering, muggy summer day in New York- and the art LOOKED like you were on the sidewalks of the Bowery on a swelting, muggy, summer day in New York. Each floor we hoped for something new, or different, but it wasn't. Every floor was another underwhelming collection of almagamated pizza boxes, egg cartons, twigs and smelly sweaters. I did love the Mel Gibson/Braveheart animal pelt mashup with the mountain bike and 80's handbags though. That was worth a laugh. I do hope they tar and feather the poor sods that curated this thing, so that they can redeem themselves with something far more impactful next time.

• Pros: Interesting facade, MAYBE at some point some potential
• Cons: Bad first exhibit, confusing layout

12/08/07

If You Love Garbage Art

by tokeloke

As of today, the New Museum of Contemporary Art has been open for only 8 days, and I was quite excited to go see what it was all about. The building, from the outside, is exciting and very strangely beautiful - set right in the middle of the downtrodden ugliness of the Bowery. Inside, however, we were amazed how cramped and unfriendly the place is, once you get past the entrance. Very little natural light, a confusing layout - everybody was searching for the stairs to avoid the slow elevators, setting off the alarms when attempting to go down the wrong stairs.

I am happy that the exhibition will be rotating, because the current opening exhibition was unacceptably sloppy and boring. If you like sloppily laid-out garbage and collages of ugliness, then this might be the thing for you. I think the most disturbing thing was, that the theme was "Unmonumental", and in a strange way, the exhibition lived up to that name; everything was dull and did not engage you on any level. It seemed like the curator had been attracted to very lazy and uninspired 'local artists' that just threw random stuff together and plopped it on the floor. A piece best described as "new white overturned lawn chair with yellow garden hose" is a good example of this uninspired approach. The conversation in the endless elevator rides was not so much "is this really art" as "I really want my $12 back".

• Pros: A beautiful and inviting piece of architecture from the outside
• Cons: Sloppy, lazy art that is very forgetable and a unfriendly layout

Editorial Review

by Contributor

This seven-story museum on the gritty Bowery stays on the cutting-edge of contemporary art and features live performances, films and more.