Image courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workship in collaboration with Cooper, Robertson & Partners

The High Line is about to get a new neighbor. Nestled next to the southern entrance of the park at Gansevoort and Washington streets, the Whitney’s Downtown Building Project takes root. The expansive building boasts 50,000 square feet of indoor gallery space and 13,000 square feet of rooftop exhibition space. The uptown location by comparison, has 32,000 square feet of gallery space. Designed by Pritzer-Prize winner Renzo Piano, the downtown building joins a growing list of powerhouse structures built along Manhattan’s far west side. Other developments include the IAC building by Frank Gehry, luxury high-rise apartments by Richard Meier, and a 23-story tower by Jean Nouvel.

Image: Bill Orcutt

Recently appointed Whitney curator Scott Rothkopf invites Wade Guyton and Kelley Walker to celebrate the opening of the new downtown location with a temporary installation. Hundreds of feet of vinyl wrap around chain link fences with images of colorful fruits, checkerboard stripes, and Swiss cheese cutout holes. The color explosion continues on the pavement and exteriors where bright graphics livens up the pavement, sides of trailers, and rooftops.

The Whitney’s downtown location calls to the museum’s original birthplace on West 8th Street in Greenwich village. Rothkopf recalls at a board meeting that “one [woman] went so far as to mention that she’d gladly lose her river view to a facility in which she could take her children to see world-class art.” Visitors can view the Guyton\Walker project through June 23rd. Tauba Auerbach follows up with an installation that opens on July 3rd.

Links:
Whitney’s Downtown Building Project
The Whitney’s Trippy Outdoor Pop Art
Whitney’s Downtown Sanctuary