The abundance of world-class contemporary art museums and their inspiring exhibitions makes narrowing down an extensive list challenging for any passionate art-lover. Here are four institutions that continuously stimulate the minds of their visitors with exhibitions and works that challenge our experiences in life and of art.
While the Basque Country is most often associated with its delicious cuisine and majestic mountains, the community in the north of Spain is the home of the Guggenheim outpost in Bilbao. The museum’s remarkable main collection boasts sculptures by renowned contemporary artists including Anish Kapoor, Louise Bourgeois and Jeff Koons. There are also site-specific works by Jenny Holzer and Daniel Buren, and Richard Serra’s massive installation The Matter of Time (1994-2005). Even more spectacular is the Frank Gehry–designed building in which the expansive collection is housed. Gehry’s signature swooping curves are on full display, providing a contemporary foil to the surrounding architecture of Bilbao.
Established in 1929, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City is easily one of the most well-known and influential modern and contemporary art institutions in the world — a must for art enthusiasts and travellers alike. The MoMA’s ever-expanding collection spans over 150 years and contains over 200,000 masterpieces, including pivotal works such as Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) and Jasper Johns’ Flag (1944–1945). Thought-provoking in nature, the museum’s curated exhibitions regularly challenge visitors’ perceptions of art, both in terms of what it is and the purpose it serves.
The Centre Pompidou is easily one of the most recognized and most visited cultural hubs in Paris. With its bright pops of color and exposed infrastructure, the radical building was designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, and is home to the Musée National d’Art Moderne and the Bibliothèque publique d’information. Visitors flock to the Centre on a daily basis to admire its splendid exhibitions, which have included major retrospectives of internationally celebrated artists including Gerhard Richter, François Morellet and Salvador Dalí.
Located on the island of Skeppsholmen in Stockholm, and emphasizing quality over quantity, Moderna Museet is a state-funded museum with a fine collection of works from Swedish and international artists. The exquisite pieces are housed, for the most part, in a modern building designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum is known for holding some of the most cutting edge temporary exhibitions in Scandinavia, showcasing the works of homegrown talents such as Lina Selander and Jonas Dahlberg.
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Written by Nicole Wong
Headline photo by Maria del Pilar Garcia Ayensa
Headline image artwork by Olafur Eliasson — Seu corpo da obra (Your body of work), 2011.