LINCOLN CENTER GALLERY MET
Fig. 1 – Gallery Met full-height pivoting entry wall is a resin-encapsulated transparency of Lincoln Center’s exterior limestone cladding..
Gallery Met is part of the Metropolitan Opera’s initiative to broaden their core demographic, and introduce opera to a younger, more diverse audience. The enterprise was conceived of in 2006 by General Manager Peter Gelb and gallery founding director and curator Dodie Kazanjian to reaffirm the Metropolitan Opera’s history of relationships with major visual artists, and to draw a broader audience by fostering new artworld collaboration. Gallery Met shows work curated in parallel with each season’s opera program.
Fig. 2 – Lincoln Center Campus with Gallery Met indicated in red.
Fig. 3 -The Metropolitan Opera’s core audience demographic.
Fig. 4 – Opening night live simulcast of Tristan and Isolde in New York’s Times Square.
Fig. 5 – William Kentridge production of The Nose by Shostakovich.
Fig. 6 – Mirrored solar protective film on the Gallery Met entrance reflects the plaza creating illusion of a continuing logia. Two large Marc Chagall tapestries flanking the Metropolitan Opera House lobby are protected by drawn curtains during the day.
Fig. 7 – Pre opera night view from Lincoln Center Plaza.
The Metropolitan Opera House southern-most bay, accessed directly from Lincoln Center plaza, was transformed into a gallery. By day reflective film protects the interior from harsh west sunlight and creates an illusion of an extended loggia by mirroring the plaza. At night, the galley storefront becomes transparent blending into the activities of the plaza.
Fig. 8 – Reflective Gallery Met Lincoln Center Plaza entrance at midday.
Fig. 9 – Translucent Gallery Met Lincoln Center Plaza entrance at dusk.
Fig. 10 – Lincoln Center Plaza entrance at night.
Fig. 11 – View from the Opera House lobby.
Fig. 12 – Section through the Lincoln Center loggia showing Gallery Met entrance from the Opera House lobby.
Fig. 13 – Gallery Met is accessed directly from Lincoln Center Plaza and from the Opera House lobby.
Fig. 14 – Gallery Met lobby entry closed.
Fig. 15 – Gallery Met lobby entry semi-open during the day.
Fig. 16 – Gallery Met lobby entrance open pre curtain-time and during intermission.
Fig. 17 – Installation view.
Fig. 18 – Wagner-inspired works by Anselm Kiefer installation view.
Fig. 19 – Kentridge Ad Hoc: Works for The Nose installation view.
Fig. 20 – Installation view.
Fig. 21 – Installation view.
Fig. 22 – Installation view George Condo.
LOCATION:
New York, USA
year:
2006
Site:
1,500 sqf
program:
Gallery
systems and materials:
client:
The Metropolitan Opera
project team:
Lindy Roy with Jason Lee, Amir Sharohki, Heidi Werner
Related projects:
The Kitchen, Deitch Projects: The Garden Party, Gibbs Farm: Gimblett Pavilion, Deste Foundation: Monument to Now, Mobile Graceland
Publications:
The New York Times (August 15, 2006)
Interior Design (August 2006)
Mens Vogue (September 2006)
The New York Times (September 21, 2006)
The Architect’s Newspaper (October 20, 2006)