Bar Oppenheimer by artist Tobias Rehberger, New York

New York is the ultimate mecca of multiculturism, and now the city welcomes its latest international import: Tobias Rehberger’s Bar Oppenheimer. Launching during Frieze New York by his London gallerist Pilar Corrias, the German artist has gone above and beyond to replicate - and reinvent - his favourite Frankfurt local within Hôtel Americano.
One part sculptural artwork, one part fully functioning bar, the second edition of Bar Oppenheimer remains faithful to the spirit of the original – but with a characteristic Rehberger twist.
The striking striped interior is based on ‘dazzle camouflage’, a trick used by camoufleurs in the First World War to confuse enemy submarines and prevent them from accurately identifying their position. The psychedelic prints serve a more playful purpose in the Oppenheimer doppelgänger, although that’s not to say a few cocktails won’t have guests seeing double.
We caught up with Rehberger in the original Frankfurt bar for our June 2013 issue. Pick up a copy to find out what inspired this act of transplantation.
The artist at the original Bar Oppenheimer.
Rehberger's replica features striking striped décor based on Second World War 'dazzle camouflage'
The New York space has exactly the same size and proportions as the Frankfurt bar, but with added stripes
ADDRESS
Hôtel Americano
518 West 27th Street
New York
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
The great American museum boom
Nine of the world’s top ten most expensive, recently announced cultural projects are in the US. What is driving this investment, and is this statistic sustainable?
-
Here’s how Heathrow is reimagining airport chaos as ambient music
Grammy-nominated Jordan Rakei turns travel noise into a meditative soundtrack by sampling everything from baggage belts to jet engines
-
Wallpaper* checks into Gansevoort Meatpacking, an art-filled hotel that mirrors the district’s glow-up
This sharp, stylish New York hotel is a fixture in its neighbourhood, where boutiques, restaurants and clubs have long since taken over spaces once occupied by slaughterhouses
-
‘Her pictures looked like pictures everybody knew were the truth’: Diane Arbus at the Armory
Matthieu Humery curates more than 400 of Arbus’ photographs at New York’s Park Avenue Armory – every picture she was known to have printed
-
Mystic, feminine and erotic: the power of Penny Slinger’s bodies as landscape
Artist Penny Slinger continues her exploration of the sacred, surreal feminine in a Santa Monica exhibition, ‘Meeting at the Horizon’
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
It was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this week
This week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, Divers
Geordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took place
Marc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colour
The Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park
‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom