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
-
Like a modernist iceberg, this Krakow house has a perfectly chiselled façadeA Krakow house by Polish architecture studio UCEES unites brutalist materialities with modernist form
-
Leo Costelloe turns the kitchen into a site of fantasy and uneaseFor Frieze week, Costelloe transforms everyday domesticity into something intimate, surreal and faintly haunted at The Shop at Sadie Coles
-
Can surrealism be erotic? Yes if women can reclaim their power, says a London exhibition‘Unveiled Desires: Fetish & The Erotic in Surrealism, 1924–Today’ at London’s Richard Saltoun gallery examines the role of desire in the avant-garde movement
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekAs we approach Frieze, our editors have been trawling the capital's galleries. Elsewhere: a 'Wineglass' marathon, a must-see film, and a visit to a science museum
-
June Leaf’s New York survey captures a life in motionJune Leaf made art in many forms for over seven decades, with an unstoppable energy and fierce appetite leading her to rationalise life in her own terms.
-
Jamel Shabazz’s photographs are a love letter to Prospect ParkIn a new book, ‘Prospect Park: Photographs of a Brooklyn Oasis, 1980 to 2025’, Jamel Shabazz discovers a warmer side of human nature
-
The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles launches the seventh iteration of its highly anticipated artist biennialOne of the gallery's flagship exhibitions, Made in LA showcases the breadth and depth of the city's contemporary art scene
-
Inside a Courtney Love-inspired art exhibition in New YorkLiza Jo Eilers looks to the glory days of Hole at an exhibition at Grimm New York
-
Thomas Prior’s photography captures the uncanny fragility of American lifeA new book unites two decades of the photographer’s piercing, uneasy work
-
Apple unveils its next-gen camera in a powerful new photography exhibitionThe new iPhone 17 Pro Max takes centre stage in a New York exhibition where artists Inez & Vinoodh, Mickalene Thomas, and Trunk Xu explore the theme of joy
-
Central Park’s revitalised Delacorte Theater gears up for a new futureEnnead Architects helmed an ambitious renovation process that has given the New York City cultural landmark a vibrant and more accessible future
