Connie Moser

After its closure of eight years, an extensive € 127 million renovation, cost overruns of € 20 million, multiple delays, a bankrupt building contractor, temporary relocation to the Post CS building, a public outcry at the new design identity and… read more >

Stedelijk Museum for Modern ArtAfter its closure of eight years, an extensive € 127 million renovation, cost overruns of € 20 million, multiple delays, a bankrupt building contractor, temporary relocation to the Post CS building, a public outcry at the new design identity and two successive directors, art lovers can finally breathe a collective sigh of relief at the long-awaited re-opening of the Stedelijk Museum for Modern Art. As of September 23, 2012, the museum, now under the leadership of former L.A. MOCA curator Ann Goldstein – the Stedelijk’s first woman and first American director – is ready to face the public. Founded in 1874, the Stedelijk Museum is dedicated to modern and contemporary art and design. A complete renovation of the Stedelijk’s historic 1895 building, designed by A.W. Weissman, has converted virtually all of its spaces into galleries, enabling the first comprehensive display the Stedelijk has ever mounted of its permanent collection, widely acknowledged to be among the most important in the world. There are three main elements to the new building: a large glassed entrance, which opens onto Museumplein; upper-level temporary exhibition galleries in a structure nicknamed The Bathtub; and a basement with a substantial display area for the permanent collection as well as experimental, compelling exhibitions and film and video art. With the renovation and expansion, the highlights of the collection are on display in the old building, in a series of changing presentations. Iconic Bathtub The Museumplein in Amsterdam has gained a new icon. A seamless, 100-meter-long composite façade, added to the original 19th-century home of the Stedelijk Museum, appears as though it consists of a single piece of material. Due to its pearly-white, smooth surface and unusual form, the structure was given the nickname The Bathtub. In architectural terms, the large white 'bathtub' is a world first. The 3,000-square… read more >