Now, with New York City in Phase 3, Hauser & Wirth has opened the doors to its new building located at 542 West 22nd Street in Chelsea. The 36,000 square-foot, Selldorf Architects designed building includes a bookshop, crafted cafe and bar, and large flexible-configuration gallery spaces with site-specific artist interventions in such areas as stairways and elevators.
Behind the stately façade of the building, large column-free spaces provide flexibility for a wide range of installation approaches. Careful detailing in the galleries distinguishes their atmosphere from the typical contemporary art warehouse vocabulary. Polished concrete floors and white plaster walls throughout are designed to create an unobtrusive setting that foregrounds the art on view.
The ground floor and second floor spaces that front West 22nd Street feature sixteen-foot and twelve-foot tall glass doors, respectively, that completely fold away, opening the façade up to further engage the public with the art on view. On the fifth floor, an expansively scaled ten-foot square picture window provides another sightline into and out of the gallery. In addition to exhibition space, the second floor includes a multi-purpose bar and event space, which will be used for artist talks and other public programs and gatherings. Private offices and showrooms occupy the third and fourth levels.
Annabelle Selldorf, Principal, Selldorf Architects, summarized: ‘The new building for Hauser & Wirth has been designed to envelope with art. Visitors will encounter art all along their path through the building’s spaces. Installations will not be static, but will interact with the architecture dynamically, in alignment with Hauser & Wirth’s ethos and values.’
Currently on View on West 22nd Street, Larry Bell: Still Standing July 6 through July 31, 2020.
Hauser & Wirth is located at 542-548 West 22nd Street in Chelsea. The gallery is reopening Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm with a book-a-timed reservation. Please read guidelines in full before arriving.