Even though Google Arts and Culture is excellent, it will never capture the awe-inspiring moment you experience when you look at a fantastic work of art in person. This is because it allows us to think beyond ourselves and see outside our culture.
Visiting a new city can give you a double dose of its culture. One of the best ways to do this is by visiting an art museum. These establishments usually feature works from prominent names, local talent, and modern media. One of the most notable examples is the MoMA PS1 in Queens. Here are some incredible contemporary art museums from around the world that you should visit when you’re in the area.
Mori Art Museum
Real estate developer Minoru Mina established the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. It doesn’t have a permanent collection but features temporary exhibitions showcasing prominent artists’ works. One of these is Ai Weiwei, who had 26 pieces shown in 2009 for a show entitled “According to What?”
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is known for its large-scale site-specific sculptures, which are typically made by artists from all around the world. One of the most prominent examples is Richard Serra’s Snake, which was created for the museum’s inauguration in 1997. In 2005, the museum featured his “weathered steel” sculptures in a show called “The Matter of Time.”
Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai
The MoCA Shanghai was established in 2005 to provide a platform for showcasing Chinese artists and gathering pieces from other countries. The institution is multidisciplinary and features works outside the usual fine art categories, such as architecture, digital art, and fashion. It has also hosted several retrospective exhibitions featuring works by prominent artists such as Pixar and Chanel.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The LACMA is the largest museum in the western region of the United States. It has a collection of over 120,000 objects and a selection of modern pieces that the Broad augments. The Broad, which opened in 2008, features the work of artists such as Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Together, these two institutions exhibit art history following the Second World War.
Museo D’arte Contemporanea di Roma
MACRO is a contemporary art museum that has exhibitions in two different locations. One is a former brewery in Via Nizza, while the other is in a former slaughterhouse in Piazza Orazio Giustiniani. Its collection features some of the most prominent Italian artists of the 1960s.
In October 2018, MACRO will become the headquarters of an experimental project called MACRO Asilo. It will allow artists to create and exhibit their works in a multidisciplinary space.