City of challenges and art proposals for discering tastes
The city of New York (formerly New Amsterdam) is, since its foundation and inclusion to the British Empire in 1664, the most intricate financial and economic hub, which also serves as the investment capital of the world, with a stock market that provides economic indicators to measure and invest on other financial markets, including the art market, given that it is a place where one can acquire stock shares linked directly to works of art, or to the institutions which work, or are related to, this subject.
One of the most important access point to Europe, it is perhaps the most representative city when it comes to immigration, and indispensable compound of the multiethnic North American population, but also, without a doubt, one of the principal cultural centers of the world, which harbors in its museums the history of mankind.
As a way to understand the necessity to create and identity and set a pace has led to the creations of enormous foundations dedicated to philanthropy, culture, and the arts, lets reviews the following list:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
And obligatory first stop is the Met, located on Fifth Avenue. Its interiors harbor over two million objects cataloged from antiquity to our present day. Each room contains different collections, grouped by culture, in which five continents are present, and which pieces from antiquity are shown. Other rooms are dedicated to the ever-changing art movements: Renaissance, Impressionism, or Expressionism. And important extension to the Met are the cloisters, dedicated to Medieval European art. Manuscripts, armor, jewels, furniture, tombs, paintings, and sculptures.
Museum of Modern Art
The MoMa, a supremely evocative space, subversive, and enriching. Always open to the vision of a wide range of experimental artists, from the classics of Van Gogh, or Matisse, to Andy Warhol. It is the temple of modern and contemporary art par excellence, perhaps the most influential museum of the last quarter of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, opening itself, as well, to the field of photography, design, film, and technology. Its foundation dates back to 1929, in the midst of the Great Depression, with the goal of harboring art from the movement known as Vanguard, then Modern, until it became the home of Pop Art, a uniquely American movement. Today, one can admire postmodern and contemporary works.
Guggenheim Museum
Modern art of the 20th century in its purest form located in Fifth Avenue. The legendary building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is an icon of architecture. The first museum conceived by the renowned Solomon R. Guggenheim foundation. It is known for displaying dance and performance art, as well. The most sought-after contemporary artists and vanguards fill the exhibition calendar. Along with the exhibitions, they also develop an exceptional education program for both young people and adults.
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Being one of the oldest museums in the country and in New York, it contains representative pieces from various regions of the world, such as wooden sculptures from Africa, and masterpieces from Ancient Egypt. A place outside the island of Manhattan that contains quality art, and which is accessible to all. Among its most viewed works, the Steinberg Family sculptures in the garden stand out. It is located near other interesting attractions, like the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and Prospect Park.
New Museum of Contemporary Art
Also located in Manhattan, the New Museum was founded on 1977. It is the brainchild of Marcia Tucker, then curator for the Whitney Museum of American Art between 1967 and 1976. The building itself can be considered a work of art on its own: cubic forms superimposed and stretched over a central axis. Its rooms display some of the most important art in the world, as well as kitsch art, vanguard trends, and contemporary proposals.
Whitnay Museum of American Art
It is one of the cultural focus points with the most history in the entire city. There are approximately 19,000 paintings, sculptures, and other works by over 3,000 artists inside its walls: Calder, Gorky, Hartley, Hopper, Lachaise, Nevelson, O’Keeffe, and others. This museum was founded thanks, in part, to the desires of the sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. After dedicating part of her life to her work, she became a sort of Maecenas for American artists from 1907 until her death in 1942. Currently, the Whitney is building a new space in downtown Manhattan, and will open its doors in 2015.
And a walk through the galleries
Chelsea, Lower East Side, 57th Street, Brooklyn, Tribeca, and other districts offer interesting routes to enjoy art and to succumb to the charms and surprises of New York City. Here, we present a few neuralgic centers where art reinvents itself and breaths life.
CHELSEA
David Zwirner
His collection of works of contemporary art is widely influential and internationally known. In its beginnings, it push forward the careers of distinguished artists, such as Luc Tuymans. The gallery provides an ample and tasteful space that inspires.
Lehmann Maupin
He moved from SOHO to Chelsea in 2002. It is known for displaying the works of young artists that break with the traditional and contemporary art scene. Among its collaborators shines Teresita Fernandez, a visual artists that was chosen by the White House for its U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.
Hauser & Wirth New York
With seats in London and Zurich, this historic gallery is located in a fashionable renovated house in Chelsea. Hauser & Wirth has been the cradle of historic projects, and the headquarters of established artists such as William Pope L. and Sharon Hayes.
Gagosian Gallery
Damien Hirst, Francesco Clemente, Richard Serra… artists the set the pace and break auction records. In the 1980s, Larry Gagosian was a benchmark in the contemporary art world. In Chelsea as in Madison Avenue, the gallery displays work of the first order.
57TH STREET
Marian Goodman
Renowned Maecenas and gallery owner, Marian Goodman plays an important role when it comes to introducing European artists into the American art market. This space is always graced by the works of such luminaries as John Baldessari, Maurizio Cattelan, Gerhard Richter, amongst others.
Sandra Gering INC
Sandra Gering opened its doors in 2006 along with Javier López, after the successful management and fruition of other artistic spaces. With notable success, photography and design are at the top of their agenda, and count among their clients such figures as David Levinthal, and Karim Rashid.
LOWER MANHATTAN
Sperone Westwater
It’s a gallery that began as an old school, promoted by three superb teachers: the Italian Gian Enzo Sperone, Angela Weswater, and the German Konrad Fischer. It has moved across the city, currently located at 257 Bowery, in a building designed by Foster + Partners.
CanadaFounded in 2000, it was a pioneer in bringing art to the Lower East Side and Chinatown in New York City. It displays groundbreaking works of New York art, and DIY aesthetics, by artists such as Michael Williams, and Frankie Martin.
Algus Greenspon
The veteran artists Mitchell Algus is recognized for his defense of New York’s most fearsome artists. Along with the young Amy Greenspon, both have managed with considerable success a space that was inaugurated in 2010 with much expectation.
LIMITLESS
Fisher Landau Center for Art
In Long Island, this 25,000 sq m center harbors the personal collection of Emily Fisher Landau. It contains some 1,500 works of art inside its walls, where figures from the second half of the 20th century shine, such as Agnes Martin, Robert Rauschenberg, Susan Rothenberg, and Kiki Smith.
International Center of Photography
The International Center of Photography is located in Midtown, and is currently the most prominent hub of worldwide visual arts. Founded in the 1960s as the International Fund for Concerned Photography, it has displayed some of the finest works of photography and photojournalism; from Robert Capa, and Werner Bischof, to Garry Winogrand, and Sebastião Salgado.
Text: Miguel Peráza ± Photo: SCT / BP / WPS / linio / GALLERRY INTEL / MOMA / STK / NEW YORK PANORAMA / WPSS / PEM / WDS / BNET / BOWERY / CONTEMPORARARY / CONTEMPORARY ART DAILY / ART NY /STATICK / GAGOSIAN GALLERY