New Museum Reopens with $82 Million Expansion and Major Exhibition
New York's New Museum has reopened this month following a two-year closure, unveiling a dramatic $82 million expansion that doubles its gallery space and introduces a landmark exhibition exploring the complex relationship between humans and technology.
Architectural Transformation on the Bowery
On Manhattan's bustling Bowery thoroughfare, the museum now features a striking architectural addition designed by Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu of OMA. The new structure, described as a "jagged, glassy jewel," attaches to the original building, expanding the total footprint to 119,700 square feet. Shigematsu compared the alignment of the two distinct buildings to finding a romantic partner, noting the original as "vertical and introverted" while the addition is "more horizontal and extroverted."
The seven-story addition introduces three levels of gallery space that connect directly to existing floors, improving airflow and allowing the museum to remain open during exhibition changes. At the intersection of the buildings, architects created a public spine featuring an atrium staircase, currently showcasing a flax-based textile installation by Czech artist Klára Hosnedlová.
Art Lovers Marks the Transition
Marking the architectural "kiss point" between old and new structures is Tschabalala Self's site-specific sculpture Art Lovers. The Harlem-born artist's work features two supersized, plasticized figures embracing several stories above the sidewalk, their grinning faces pressed close and glossy torsos entwined within a massive protective hand.
Sprawling Exhibition: New Humans: Memories of the Future
The reopening coincides with the launch of New Humans: Memories of the Future, a sprawling 732-object exhibition occupying the entire museum. The show spans art, artifacts, and visual culture, featuring new commissions from artists including Camille Henrot, Wangechi Mutu, Ryan Gander, and Alice Wang.
Artistic director Massimiliano Gioni describes the exhibition as a "capacious" gathering that loops through history, from Renaissance-era myths about the "homunculus" to contemporary artificial intelligence. While most wall text was generated by humans, a small selection of images was compiled and annotated by Google's Gemini AI, including stills from Blade Runner, Ex Machina, and The Terminator.
Technological and Analog Explorations
The exhibition balances technological innovation with powerful analog works. Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson's mesmerizing images of human fetuses, captured with innovative endoscopic techniques dating back to 1965, stand alongside Anicka Yi's aerobes—helium-filled translucent machines inspired by mushrooms and aquatic life that float through the fourth-floor gallery.
Yi notes the intimate relationship visitors develop with her aerobes in the New York staging: "You're closer to them, they're closer to you, and the relationship between bodies is more palpable. We connect with them because of that fragility, not in spite of it."
Leadership Transition and Vision
The reopening marks a significant moment for director Lisa Phillips, who has shepherded the institution since 1999 through multiple stages of growth. Phillips, who departs this spring after 27 years, emphasized the exhibition's ambitious scope: "Few museums take on thematic shows of this magnitude. I think we're on the threshold of a seriously new age—more dramatic than the Industrial Revolution."
Enhanced Visitor Experience
The expansion includes the museum's first full-service restaurant, also designed by OMA with a separate public entrance. Operated by Henry Rich of the Oberon Group and helmed by executive chef Julia Sherman, the restaurant aims to create dialogue with the art through its menu. Sherman describes her approach as "an intuitive and giddy response to new ingredients, market produce, and travel" that becomes "in conversation with art simply by sheer proximity."
Additional features include a brand new outdoor plaza that will soon host a sculpture commission by Sarah Lucas, completing the transformation of the New Museum into a two-building campus that significantly enhances New York's contemporary art landscape.
