Following a four-year development process and a two-year closure, the New Museum has reopened its doors. The expansion, designed by OMA / Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas, adds 60,000 square feet, effectively doubling the museum’s exhibition area and providing additional space for artist residencies, public programs, and NEW INC, its “cultural incubator.”
The inaugural exhibition, New Humans: Memories of the Future, delves into the human experience amid sweeping technological changes across the 20th and 21st centuries, featuring the work of over 150 artists, scientists, filmmakers, and others.
While the museum is certainly larger, does it also deliver a better experience?
Hyperallergic‘s editors convened after the press preview earlier today to discuss the expansion, the exhibition, and the prospects for the new New Museum. Below is the transcript of our conversation.
—Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor
Hakim Bishara, editor-in-chief: So, what did you think?
Hrag Vartanian, editor-at-large: I actually drafted an introduction while exploring the museum.
Hakim: That quickly?
Hrag: Yes, here’s what I wrote:
It seems inevitable that contemporary art’s neo-colonial language would lead to the collection of not just objects and histories, but museums themselves. The new New Museum embodies many things: it could be seen as contemporary, but it also encompasses elements of science, history, anthropology, and various other museum types. It reflects the ambitions of its patron class to possess the world and the efforts of its courtier class to present it to them, wrapped in perforated metal, in this instance.
What we have now is a blend of Obama-era startup culture, marked by the lime green and perforated metal. This at least provided a central staircase with pleasant views of the neighborhood. However, the galleries feel quite industrial and more aligned with commercial gallery spaces, reminiscent of the previous building’s design.
Additionally, what remains from the old building seems peculiar, particularly the wheelchair-inaccessible staircase between the third and fourth floors, which houses three artworks, including Judith Hopf’s “Phone User 5” (2021–22). The narrow gallery on the north side of the second floor also features some of the exhibition’s standout pieces, like Frank Malina’s “Reflections III” (1962), Kenneth Knowlton and Leon Harmon’s “Computer Nude (Studies in Perception I)” (1967), and Alison Knowles’s “The House of Dust Edition” (1967).
Shigeko Kubota’s “Jogging Lady” (1993) on view in the Hall of Robots, with a close up of Rammellzee’s “Chaser the Eraser” (1994–2001) on the right (photo Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic)
Hakim: Those are strong words. For me, the expansion felt more functional than revolutionary. The staircase atrium stood out as the best feature.
Although it offers more breathing space and a welcome change from the previous building’s stacked floors, the doors to each level are too narrow for the increased number of visitors.
Furthermore, I noticed a lack of amenities to support the expanded space, such as new restrooms.
Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor: There are new restrooms, but they are hidden behind unmarked doors, making them difficult to find.
Hakim: The stairs are slippery.
Hrag: Yes, I noticed that at the top of one staircase. The stairs have sharp edges, which could be dangerous. An older colleague mentioned concerns about the railings and the possibility of getting cut on the metal balusters or stairwell walls.
Hakim: I overheard older visitors expressing concern about the slippery stairs, with one saying, “I’m scared.”
The design is visually appealing from the outside, but the interior functionality raises questions. Although the integration of the old and new galleries feels seamless, the design lacks organic flow, retaining a primarily vertical layout with wider galleries.
Valentina Di Liscia, senior editor: Here’s my perspective: both the exhibition and the spaces felt more like a private collection than a public museum, especially given the institution’s emphasis on community engagement. The galleries were overcrowded with over 700 objects, and the wall texts were excessively long. This overload detracts from the visitor experience, preventing them from fully appreciating the art. It begs the question: who is this for?
This was my main takeaway. Did the curators feel obliged to fill the extra space with as much as possible? We noticed a lack of editing — in the wall texts and the exhibition itself. It all seemed jumbled together.
This detracted from the impact of individual works and the profound experience of being moved by art and leaving with a new perspective.
Lisa: Overall, the new building is adequate. It blends well with the old structure, which is good, but it also feels dated.
This datedness extends to the exhibition itself, partly because contemporary works were mixed with pieces by artists like Giacometti and Francis Bacon.
The ideas from past works didn’t feel more outdated than those from contemporary pieces about the future. It was uninspiring, suggesting an inability to create anything truly innovative.
Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor: The building is unwelcoming to visitors, much like the previous one. Visitor experience seemed secondary, and the sprawling show didn’t offer anything new.
Valentina: Lisa, you mentioned during the preview that the museum looks like a vision of the future from 50 years ago.
Hrag: It was designed 12 years ago, and it feels like they just decided to build it now. This is unfortunate, as Renzo Piano’s design for the Whitney Museum still feels modern, despite opening over a decade ago. This one feels outdated even though it just opened.
Lisa: Exactly.
Hrag: I was disappointed that it started with works by Duchamp, DalĂ, and BrâncuČ™i, as it suggests a very basic view of art history and the purpose of this new museum.
Valentina: In the same gallery, new works by Wangechi Mutu were present but were unfortunately overshadowed.
We all need more transformative, sublime experiences right now. This exhibition was the opposite, like spending hours in an Instagram spiral and feeling worse afterward.
Lisa: Yes, if I had to describe the experience in one word, it would be “inhuman.”
Hakim: Maybe “post-human”?
Lisa: Yes, that works.
Valentina: “Post-human” sounds like we’re entering a new era. This felt almost apocalyptic.
Lisa: This is a new era, but there are no people in it. The exhibition seemed to be created by someone not interested in humanity, focusing more on technology.
Hakim: But that was the exhibition’s theme.
Lisa: Yet, the title is “New Humans.” Where are the humans?
Valentina: Technology has a human side, which wasn’t always evident in the show.
Hakim: Should we discuss the different vibes on each floor?
Hrag: The fourth floor, called the Hall of Robots, felt like a science museum with the ET display and the “Glass Man” by Franz Tschakert, which is from the German Hygiene Museum, a medical museum. The wall photos by Seth Price, which were close-ups of human skin, were dull and occupied too much space.
Many objects there felt superficial. The mannequin in Teresa Burga’s “Perfil de la Mujer Peruana / Objeto-Estructura-Informe Antropométrico (Perfil Fisiologico 1) [Profile of the Peruvian Woman / Object-Structure-Anthropometric Report (Physiological Profile I)],” (1980-81/2017) seemed cheesy rather than insightful. It was a room of varied body visions, many rudimentary. School kids might find it exciting, but for adults, it was flat and uninspired.
Valentina: There were some body artworks on the second floor, smaller yet more thoughtfully executed, like Berenice Olemdo’s “Olga,” a motorized sculpture of a children’s orthosis. However, I agree with you, Hrag. The fourth floor felt like an exhibit from Bodies circa 2006.
Hakim: I appreciated Christopher Kulendran Thomas’s video installation on the third floor; it was well-presented.
However, the seventh-floor sky room felt like a missed opportunity. A hologram of Donna Haraway would have been perfect there…
Lisa: I often found the installations visually appealing. I thought the specially built display case on
