Fotografiska’s Wes Anderson’esque hallways

Most of my posts cover interesting art and design destinations around the world. That said, when a new art hotspot opened right in New York, backed by a great Stockholm gallery that I admired during my visit there, I had to write a few words to welcome the opening. That new hotspot is Fotografiska.

After a long-ish wait required to complete the full-blown renovation of the gallery’s landmarked Renaissance Revival–style building on lower Park Avenue, the contemporary photography gallery finally opened its doors in mid December and my wait was finally over. And I could not be happier to have this new museum just a cab ride away.

Much like its Swedish parent, Fotografiska is not a run-of-the-mill photography gallery. Spread over six floors of its historic building, it combines a cool, laid-back art opening lounge on the 6th floor, a fancy restaurant, Veronika, on the second floor, a cool Scandi cafe and book store on the ground floor and gallery rooms showcasing interesting photography everywhere else.

As a photo portrait lover, I was totally in my element in the original Stockholm gallery, and its New York offspring did not disappoint. In the top floor lounge area, I could admire Danny Clinch’s photographs, a virtual Who’s Who of the music world, including my favorite, Bruce Springsteen.

Danny Clinch photography - Bruce Springsteen

A few steps away, down the darkened industrial staircase decorated by large photo prints that lend them a Wes Anderson-like feel, on the fifth floor, the bold, loud, passionate world of Ellen Von Unwerth’s Devotion! awaits. You can wander the dark rooms, moving from “Passion” to “Lust” to at your own pace, admiring the bold imagery that comes at you in color as well as in black and white. It will pull you in, I guarantee it.

One of my favorite shows I found on the fourth floor. Tawney Chatmon’s ”Inheritance” tackles the difficult topic of racial challenges through unusually beautiful, ornate work that doesn’t deny its Klimt-esque inspiration. I liked it more than I ever imagined I would and I suspect you will, too.

Two additional floors cover other gems from the world of contemporary photography and works by Anastasia Taylor-Lind, Adi Ness, and the powerful landscapes by Helene Schmitz.

On the ground floor, you can lose yourself among the many books, posters and other items that photo lovers young and mature will enjoy. I may have just found my favorite new gallery spot in NYC!