Anyone’s who anyone came to the grand opening of Moscow’s Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. Billionaires, gallery owners, artists, celebrities and collectors gathered for an event celebrating the newly opened Rem Koolhaas-designed museum (and Dasha Zhukova funded) in the infamous Gorky Park.
Rather than rebuild completely, a gut-rehab was performed on the enormous 1968 restaurant and pavilion complete with a polycarbonate facade and an event space laid out to showcase the “best of Russian culture”. There are some interesting features such as the huge sliding doors which serve as the museum’s main entrance and a “conserved wall of tiles”, remnants from the previous structure within the interior staircases.
Mega art collector, Dasha Zhukova, certainly spared no expense in opening Moscow’s first contemporary art museum. With a mission of bringing more internationally important projects and shows to the city, the Garage Museum is off to a fabulous start!
The exterior of Moscow’s new Garage Museum of Contemporary Art is beautiful and an open plaza with vegetation surrounds the multi-story building.
Image courtesy of: Architectural Record
In Russian tradition of honoring the past, Rem Koolhaas’ firm, OMA, restored old mosaics and brickwork that had not been given much respect previously by architectural historians. Now, a mosaic depicting autumn now holds court at the café.
Image courtesy of: Architectural Record
Chief curator, Kate Fowle, at the museum’s opening, reveling in the Yayoi Kusama’s installation.
Image courtesy of: Art New, courtesy of the Garage Museum
