UPDATE: Here’s my review. And here’s Julie Iovine‘s companion piece.
With my appraisal of the spacious new downtown digs of Whitney Museum set to appear in tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal (online tonight), I will finally be able to break my uncharacteristic (WSJ-mandated) silence about this year’s most important, game-changing development on the New York art scene.
Unlike the battalion of jump-the-gun reviewers, we tortoises waited until we could see how well the place worked when fully installed and occupied by its intended (non-journalistic) audience. I returned for my third visit this week, on a “normal” Monday, to avoid the opening weekend’s hubbub.
Photo by Lee Rosenbaum
As with the WSJ’s coverage of the Kimbell Art Museum’s expansion, also designed by the ubiquitous Renzo Piano, I’ve double-teamed the Whitney with architecture critic Julie Iovine. My piece will assess the inaugural installation, America is Hard to See, and examine how well the interiors work for visitors and for the art.
For now, let’s set the scene: As I mention at the beginning of the piece, the Whitney’s new Meatpacking District neighborhood, “once gritty, [is] now almost chichi.” I know this because the garage that cost me $24 before the museum’s public opening now costs me $35—an early manifestation of the Whitney Effect.
We can probably expect to see upscale stores filling up these spaces across the street…
…to match what’s already happened a block away:
Photo by Lee Rosenbaum
The wait outside wasn’t long (about 20 minutes, according to someone at the front of the line), and advanced ticketholders ($22 for adults but admirably free for those under 18) could walk right in on the right:
Once inside, there’s another line at the ticket counter (to the right). The gift shop is on the left:
I’ll update this post tonight with links to the WSJ articles (mine and Julie’s). And I’ll post on CultureGrrl additional commentary and images from the galleries, some time after the articles appear.
For now, here’s the brilliantly insightful Whitney staffer who was my chief guide (with the assistance of two curatorial colleagues) during my initial visit:
Photo by Lee Rosenbaum