New Museum: Bowery and Prince Street

I went to the New Museum on Thursday night (admission is free from 7-9 pm weekly) with a friend, and we had a fun and enjoyable time.  It is a small museum with multiple floors (but almost all of it is elevator accessible) and is dedicated to modern art.

As you may know by now, while I can appreciate modern art, it is not my favorite.  The paintings and bronze sculptures of the current George Condo exhibit were fascinating.  He mixes cubist, mannerist, and cartoon-like styles in political and general life commentary.  Check out the exhibit at http://www.newmuseum.org/exhibitions/431/ to get a sense of the work.  I especially liked his take on real life people in his caricatures of Elliott Spitzer in the "Return of Client No. 9" and Queen Elizabeth in the "Insane Queen," and I could gaze forever at the painting that is somehow frenetic yet zen called "Internal Space."

There was also an exhibit of work by Lynda Benglis, who creates large scale foam, latex, found-object, and chicken-wire-based sculptures. I don't really get it, but perhaps if I had taken a guided tour it would have been better?  I doubt it.

If you have a fondness for modern art and have 30-45 minutes to spend in the lower east side, the New Museum could be just the ticket.  The gift shop also had a good collection of art books and some very witty t-shirts for sale.