New Museum

New Museum Review

This seven-story, 60,000-square-foot structure—a glimmering metal mesh-clad assemblage of off-centered squares—caused some neighborhood uproar when it was built in 2007, with some residents slow to accept the nontraditional building. Not surprisingly, given the museum's name and the building, shows are all about contemporary art: previous exhibitions have included the popular Carsten Höller: Experience, with a slide connecting the fourth and second floors, and a sensory deprivation tank, among other things. Studio 231, the museum's adjacent, ground-floor space at 231 Bowery, gives emerging artists the opportunity to create work outside the confines of the main museum building in a studiolike space. If you're visiting on the weekend, check out the seventh-floor "sky room" and its panoramic view of Lower Manhattan. From 10 to noon on the first Saturday of every month, the museum runs free family-oriented programs and events. And Thursday's free night always brings a fun-loving, hipster-heavy crowd out of the woodwork.