New & In

New Museum on the Bowery

The New Museum of Contemporary Art unveiled in its new home last week on the Bowery in downtown Manhattan. The exterior of the museum greatly contrasts with the surrounding area, which is one of the grittiest places in the Big Apple.

The seven-storey, 5,574-square-metre New Museum was designed by Tokyo-based avant-garde architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA, who are renowned for their 21st-century constructions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa and the Christian Dior building in Tokyo.

The architects have interpreted the history and powerful personalities of both the New Museum and its storied location into the building. The 53-metre-high, glimmering metal mesh-clad stack of boxes shifts off its axis in a dynamic composition, representing the museum's distinctive way of thought and attitude - political, fearless and tough. The dramatic stack of seven rectangular boxes is the architects' solution to the tight fit on a plot of land that is just 21 metres wide and 34 metres deep. The shifted-box gives a variety of open, fluid internal spaces that are different heights at every column-free level, with different characteristics. Through the boxes and windows, the design encapsulates the philosophy of Kazuyo and Ryue, which is to organise a programme in the building that keeps the relationship with the outside.

With the strong and concise mission statement, "New art, new ideas", the New Museum is now the host of contemporary art and an incubator for new ideas, as well as an architectural contribution to New York's urban landscape.

The key current project, which will last until March, is the global trend exploration called "Unmonumental", including sculpture from 30 artists around the globe, collage, sound and Internet-based art. So, note this place in your travelling list. It is located at 235 Bowery, New York 10002.

For more details, visit www.newmuseum.org.

WOKmedia

Speaking of plain, white designs, a couple of names that come to mind are Japan's Muji or Droog Design from the Netherlands. Add WOKmedia to the list.

Established in 2004, WOKmedia, owned by London-based Julie Mathias and Wolfgang Kaeppner, has been showing its smartly designed installations and furniture products in shows at London's Design Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei, Milan Furniture Fair, Design Miami/Basel and Contrasts Gallery.

According to their website, WOKmedia "is primarily concerned with the emotional dimension, an archetypal memory or a physical sensation. Often they survey a state of in between where chaos is showing structure and confusion is beginning to make sense. Where out of devastation and destruction emerges a new world. A world imbedded in their childhood memories when emotions were not expected to be filtered, when make-believe was not equated with lunacy".

There's a distinct Chinese flavour, not only from the word "wok". With a production studio in Shanghai, WOKmedia's collections include "Made in China", which a twisted blend white lacquer wooden furniture embedded with hand-carved toy animals.

The art installation, "New Breed", features 69 broken giant porcelain eggs, suspended from the ceiling, with ancient Chinese erotic scenes painted inside.

Another product is "Lunuganga", a tree-branch shaped shelf for holding books, clothes or anything, inspired by a flood in Sri Lanka.

For more details, visit ContrastsGallery.com or wokmedia.com.

Luxury in white

Though it never snows in Bangkok, large artificial Christmas trees with ornaments and faux snow are de rigueur for most of the city's shopping malls. You can even decorate yourself and surroundings in white.

First to recommend is the decorative ball for your Christmas tree by designer Paul Smith, available at the Paul Smith store in Siam Paragon. The next white item is the Gun Vase from SUCK UK. It is a wall-mounted ceramic flower vase, in the shape of a pistol.

Dress yourself with the white T-shirt from Commes des Garcons (French for "like some boys") whose founder Rei Kawakubo has launched more basic, street white T-shirt but still played with the heart-shaped crest. Try them on at Blackjack, Erawan Bangkok.

Complied by Manurada Pornchanarak