Located in a historic landmark and spanning six floors, the freshly opened New York outpost of Stockholm’s celebrated Fotografiska museum is set to become a cornerstone in the city’s cultural landscape. New York architecture firm CetraRuddy led the redesign of the Swedish institution’s first stateside location, in close collaboration with Fotografiska co-founders and brothers Jan and Per Broman.
While the ground floor offers a perfectly appointed café alongside a curated selection of books, prints and other wares, the second level is home to Verōnika, an elegant restaurant and bar helmed by Stephen Starr and designed by Roman and Williams. At the top of the Renaissance revival building lies a cosy living room-like space, home to rotating installations that will serve as backdrops for talks, concerts, and more. Sandwiched in the middle is the raison d’être of the museum, with three storeys dedicated to contemporary photography exhibitions. The inaugural shows are solo presentations of Ellen von Unwerth, Tawny Chatmon, Adi Nes, Helene Schmitz and Anastasia Taylor-Lind.
The curated art book and gift store.
The largest show, ‘Devotion! 30 Years of Photographing Women’, explores von Unwerth’s iconic fashion images – the German photographer and director was a model herself once. The playful and provocative photographs, often depicting celebrities, are arranged in seven chapters, among them Love, Power, and Passion. We see Rihanna staring straight into the camera, lips crimson and wrapped in barbed wire (Rated R, 2009); transgender model Andreja Pejić perched on a bathroom counter in a sparkling robe (Houpette, 2013); and David Bowie and Kate Moss clinging to each other (Kate and David, 2003). A selection of von Unwerth’s short films, shot mostly in black-and-white also feature, while Lana del Rey can be heard in the backdrop of the show’s Lust section.
Soundtracks carry through many of the exhibitions, including Schmitz’s ‘Thinking Like a Mountain’, with its calming instrumental score, and Taylor-Lind’s ‘Other People’s Children’, which features mumbled conversations between kids and adults. Elsewhere at Chatmon’s survey, ‘Inheritance’, a documentary provides a behind-the-scenes look at her empowering portraits of African-American women and youth, atop of which she adds regal elements with acrylic paint and 24-karat gold-leaf in a style reminiscent of Gustav Klimt.
Much more than a photography museum, Fotografiska is a place ripe for discovery – for emerging and established talents, for connections between unsuspected pairings, and for new ways to engage with a contemporary institution. With institution set to open a London gallery in 2020, keep an eye on its forthcoming programming, which is sure to surprise and delight.
The façade of the landmarked Church Missions House on Park Avenue South.
Untitled, 2019, by Anastasia Taylor-Lind, Rachel nurses her 16-month-old daughter Michaela while her nanny, Annie, clips the child’s toenails in Brooklyn.
Installation view of ‘Adi Nes: Inheritance’.
Untitled, 1996, © The artist. Courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery
Untitled (Last Supper), 1996, © The artist. Courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery
Installation view of ‘Helene Schmitz: Thinking Like a Mountain’.
Aesthetics of Violence, 2017, from the series Thinking Like a Mountain. © The artist
A versatile event venue with vaulted ceilings and skylights will host programming for Fotografiska members.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Fotografiska New York
281 Park Avenue South
New York
-
Sonoforma fashions guitar furniture for players who want to blend sound into their interiorThe new Sonoforma Rhapsody guitar cabinet splices mid-century lines with sonic innards, creating an amplifier that instantly feels right at home
-
In the heart of Basque Country, Bjarke Ingels unveils a striking modular building devoted to culinary researchSee what the architect cooked up for the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastián, Spain
-
Ten pyjama shirts good enough to wear out of the bedroom and onto the streetFrom Prada to Dolce & Gabbana, designers have embraced the louche elegance of the pyjama shirt this season. Here, the Wallpaper* style team select ten of the best
-
Inside the work of photographer Seydou Keïta, who captured portraits across West Africa‘Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens’, an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, celebrates the 20th-century photographer
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFrom sumo wrestling to Singaporean fare, medieval manuscripts to magnetic exhibitions, the Wallpaper* team have traversed the length and breadth of culture in the capital this week
-
María Berrío creates fantastical worlds from Japanese-paper collages in New YorkNew York-based Colombian artist María Berrío explores a love of folklore and myth in delicate and colourful works on paper
-
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
