THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

You probably know it, it is white and round (which does not make it easy to hang the paintings). Before becoming an international franchise for contemporary art, it all started in New York from a wealthy collector who was very interested in new forms of expression. Solomon R. Guggenheim had made his fortune in copper and silver mines. During the 1920s and 1930s, the American billionaire began to collect works by European painters, which he exhibited in his apartments at the Plaza Hotel in front of an audience shocked by the abstract avant-garde. Among the artists were Léger, Mondrian, Klee, Chagall and Kandinsky, the last two representing the core of the museum's permanent collection. Van Gogh, Degas, the wild animals and some Picasso from the first period are other treasures in this collection. The Guggenheim Museum is said to be the most scandalous in New York... But isn't its greatest asset finally its architecture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright? The building, which was also planned for another location, made a lot of noise, then its initial concept was diverted by the addition of administrative spaces. It was then insulted to be renamed after the LeFrak family, who had given the museum $10 million. This strange cylindrical structure, whose construction and finishing lasted 16 years, contrasts with the architecture of the large bourgeois buildings on 5th Avenue. It raised a storm of controversy when it opened in 1959. A new wing was opened in early 1993, surprisingly and very successfully expanding the museum in Central Park. In 2019, the building was listed by UNESCO, along with 7 other emblematic creations by Wright. Finally, all the image and prestige of the Guggenheim would almost derive from the visionary success of the architect (just look at the omnipresence of the building in Guggenheim's communication rather than the works on display). Because on the exhibition, sale and acquisition side, the results are rather uneven. Some of the masterpieces in the collection (Modigliani, etc.) have been sold and replaced by conceptual artworks. When the prestigious permanent collection is not sold, it rotates between the five establishments named after the Guggenheim brand (New York, Bilbao, Venice, Berlin and Las Vegas), the museum focuses on dubious contemporary exhibitions. The height of inanity having been reached in 2003 with almost a semester devoted to the five ridiculous episodes of Matthew Barney's Cremaster cycle (Björk's companion in the city). His work spread over the three floors, the corridors, the projection room (where few spectators could stand more than 5 minutes of his 45-minute films). Next door, the Ukrainian visionary Malevich (1878-1935) saw some of his most beautiful paintings and architectural works crammed into the 50 m² of an annex room. The museum has been experiencing financial problems in recent years. The entrance is therefore very expensive and the emphasis has been put on the shop, magnificent, very sophisticated (possibility to order from France on the Internet). Pass in front of the museum, take a picture of the building and head directly to the shop to enjoy yourself, bring back some souvenirs: a way to taste the substantial marrow of the museum.